The First Step
by Bubblz
Summary: "I guess that's how brothers are, better and worse to each other than anyone else." Takes place after the season two finale, focusing on the brotherly relationship between Lucas and Nathan. What the world of Tree Hill looks like with Lucas and Nathan closer than ever and figuring out what their family will look like from now on. Brucas, Jeyton, and Naley.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, fellow OTH fans! For the longest time, I just wanted to see Nathan and Lucas have a real conversation about their relationship. So here is my one-shot, it takes place after the finale and after their whole fight.**

* * *

Lucas Scott was absentmindedly pulling at the threads on his pillowcase when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Lucas, it's me. Can you…can you come over to Dan's house?"

"Nathan…"

"Look, I know we didn't end on the best terms. That's why I want you to come over."

"I'm really sorry-"

"I know. I just, want to talk. About everything"

"Everything?"

"Yes…hurry up."

"Alright, alright." Lucas chuckled and hung up the phone. Somehow, he knew Nathan and him were taking the first steps to being okay. Really okay.

* * *

Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Nathan answered right away.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Um…" Nathan was at a lost for words.

"Don't know what to say either?" Lucas said tentatively.

"It's..."

"Hard?" Lucas finished for him. Nathan nodded wordessly.

"Yeah."

"It's all hard." Lucas said with a pained expression.

Nathan had no idea what to say. He never was one for heart to hearts.

"We should go inside" He suggested after a moment.

The boys went up to Nathan's room and sat next to each other on his bed, unsure of what to say next.

Deb came into Nathan's room.

"Nathan, I'm going to… Lucas, I didn't know you were here." Deb said.

"Yeah, Nathan and I were just having a brotherly chat," Lucas said lightly, but pointedly. He had noticed that Nathan wanted to say something to him, but hadn't yet.

"Oh! Well, how nice! Well, I am going out for a little while. I'll see you boys later." Deb said quickly, and left.

"I guess we should talk" Nathan said finally.

"Nathan, look I am so sorry about lying to you. I shouldn't have lied to you about Haley."

"Then why did you?"

"I…I just wanted to hold on to a time when it was mostly good. You and Haley were so good together, you and me were finally getting along. Nathan, you're one of my best friends now. I didn't want to change that."

"You shouldn't have lied to me!"

"Nathan. You'll never know how sorry I am. I was so wrong to lie to you. I just got so consumed with bringing Dan down, and I thought things could be normal where he wasn't ruining my life and we could be friends."

"Why do you want to be friends so badly?" Nathan asked suddenly.

Lucas was shocked and a little hurt.

"W-what?" He said, looking down so Nathan couldn't see the hurt on his face and the tears forming in his eyes.

"Why did you want so desperately to get along with me? I was a complete jackass to you for most of this year, and plenty of times after we got along. Why do you keep trying to make things right between us?" Nathan asked, not realizing that he was hurting Lucas with such a question.

Lucas looked up finally and Nathan saw the hurt expression on his face.

"Lucas, I didn't mean that I don't want…"

"Because you're my brother," Lucas whispered.

"What?"

"Because you're my brother, Nathan."

Nathan wasn't sure what to say.

"I know that sounds all sappy and emotional, but there it is. You're my brother, I wanted to know you ever since I found out who you were."

Nathan said nothing, but instead hugged his brother. Lucas was unsure at first, but finally hugged his brother tight. For once in a long time, it felt like everything was going to be okay.

"I never wanted to hate you." Nathan said, his voice breaking a little.

Lucas pulled away from Nathan.

"So much for not getting all emotional."

"Yeah…" Nathan sniffed and chuckled a little.

"Are we okay now?"

"Not quite. What about Dan?"

"We both want to bring him down don't we? Stop him from controlling our lives…" Lucas said

"Yeah, but…"

"But I shouldn't have lied to you." Lucas said, finishing Nathan's sentence again.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Lucas said holding his arms out and sticking out his lower lip. Nathan couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. Next time include me in on your evil plans." Nathan said. Lucas lowered his arms and cracked up.

"Jackass." Nathan smiled.

Lucas laughed.

"So you came to live with Dan just to bring him down?" Nathan asked.

Lucas was about to respond when he realized that he hadn't told Nathan about the _other _reason he stayed with Dan.

"Actually…he was paying…for my medication."

"For…" Nathan began, already knowing the answer.

"HCM. I know it's redundant, but I'm sorry." Lucas said.

"Why didn't you tell me? And why would you mom let you live with Dan?" Nathan asked.

"She doesn't know."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I didn't want to tell anyone!" Lucas protested.

"Why?"

"I'd have to give up basketball!"

"Oh…" Nathan said.

"Yeah…"

"Oh my God. Lucas…"

"I don't want to lose it." Lucas said quietly.

"But, it could hurt you! You could die!"

"Dan played all those years and it didn't hurt him!"

"He only had a heart attack in his mid 30s!"

"I know…I just…dammit!"

"Lucas, it's okay, calm down." Nathan said, gripping his brother's shoulders.

"I'm sorry…this just…I…life…sucks." Lucas mumbled.

"Wow, articulate." Nathan joked, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah"

"Hey, we can deal with this later. Together."

"Thanks, Nate."

"I've got your back, Luke."

They both sat back on Nathan's bed and stared at the ceiling.

"So, Haley came to see me tonight." Nathan said after awhile.

"Really? What did you say?"

"Nothing. I couldn't."

Lucas propped himself up to look at Nathan.

"You didn't say anything?"

"No…"

"But…what did she do?"

"She said she shouldn't have come and left."

"And you didn't go after her?"

"I did."

"And…"

"Then I told her that it was going to take me awhile to deal with all this."

"I bet…" Lucas lay back down on the bed.

"Do you think I was wrong to ignore it for now?"

"I guess not."

"I hope not."

"I'm just…" Lucas trailed off.

"Just…?"

"Well, I think she's sorry." Lucas said pathetically.

"That's pathetic man." Nathan laughed.

"I know…we…"

"Let me guess. You already worked everything out when you saw her."

"Well."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Of course." Nathan sighed.

"It takes time, Nate."

"I know."

Lucas yawned.

"I'm sorry if I'm boring you." Nathan said sarcastically.

"Sorry. Just between fighting with Dan, being dumped by Brooke, comforting Peyton, fighting with you, making up with you, I'm beat."

"Damn."

"Exactly."

"You know you can stay here if you want to, you can help me and my mom take down Dan. We just have to stay around here a little longer, we can finally be free of him. I mean, I know he probably doesn't want you hanging around, but if he sees that both his sons hate him, maybe he'll finally get an attitude adjustment. It's only about 17 years overdue. My mom promised me that we would remove ourselves from him…Lucas…Lucas are you listening to me?" Nathan peered at his brother.

Who was fast asleep.

"Huh." Nathan said amused, then turned off the light and stared at the dark ceiling for awhile.

It felt like just a moment, but it was actually a long time, because sunlight became creeping through the windows, casting soft light into the room.

"Nathan?"

"Hey. You totally fell asleep on me last night, jackass." Nathan joked.

"Sorry. Like I said…"

"Hell of a night."

"Yeah."

"So Luke, are we cool?"

"Yeah. Nate…"

"What?"

"_Are _we okay?"

"We're on our way to being okay."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I decided to expand this story a little bit, because I really like the Lucas/Nathan brotherly relationship. This will also deal with other relationships (such as Nathan/Haley, Lucas/Brooke, Lucas/Dan, etc)  
**

* * *

"God I feel like hell," Nathan complained, rolling out of bed.

"You look like it too," Lucas quipped as he began making Nathan's bed.

"Nice, man. What are you doing?" Nathan asked as he pulled clothes from his dresser.

"Making your bed." Lucas laughed.

"Huh."

"Yeah, lazy. So, did you _sleep _at all?"

"I kind of just stared at the ceiling."

Lucas just laughed for a moment.

"Well okay then. So should I go?"

"You don't have to, we could hang out." Nathan said, tossing Lucas a gray t-shirt and some black shorts. "You can wear these, I hope they're not too big for your scrawny ass."

"Gee thanks," Lucas said sarcastically and went into the bathroom to change.

He emerged a few minutes later, and Nathan was checking his cell phone.

"What's up Nate?"

"Just checking my phone. I'm starving."

"Me too."

The boys headed downstairs to an empty kitchen.

"Where's Deb? At the café?"

"I guess. So…PopTarts?" Nathan suggested.

"Sounds good."

They were eating and looking for something to watch on T.V. when Deb came in.

"Hey mom, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you. Oh, Lucas, good you're here. Did you spend the night?" Deb asked.

"Yes I did, what did you need to tell us?" Lucas responded.

"Well, boys, there was a fire at the dealership last night…" Deb began.

"Is Dad okay?" Nathan asked, standing up.

"He has some burns on his back and shoulders, but luckily he was found before it got worse."

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"Well, apparently, Dan was _drugged._" Deb said with emphasis.

"The hell?" Nathan said in confusion.

"The police concluded that someone drugged Dan and set the dealership on fire to try…and kill him."

"Oh my God," said Lucas.

"Look, boys, he's going to be okay. Don't worry. I can take you over to see him in a little while if you like," Deb said gently.

"I better not," said Lucas.

"Why not? You're his son too." Nathan said.

"Not according to him." Lucas sighed.

"He probably didn't mean it, whatever fight you had," Deb said reassuringly.

"I'll think about it," Lucas said, sinking back down on to the couch. Nathan sat next to him and patted his shoulder. They sat in silence for awhile watching music videos. Nathan grew sick of the silence and decided to talk.

"So do you want to talk about Brooke?"

"No."

"But we're going to, right?"

"I guess."

"What happened, Luke? Felix is out of the picture, and you two are into each other." Nathan asked.

"I guess she wasn't into _me. _I told her I wanted to be with her and she just left." Lucas said, then added, "and I kissed her."

"Before or after you told her you wanted to be with her?"

"Um, before…"

"Aww, Luke!" Nathan laughed.

"I know! I just kinda got carried away." Lucas laughed too. The situation sucked, but he had to admit it was funny.

"What are you going to do?"

"Apologize for forcing it on her, and then…something." Lucas said uselessly.

"Wow. Good plan."

"Well she won't be back for awhile, so I have awhile to think of what to do next."

"True."

"God, this summer sucks so far." Lucas sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Hopefully it won't for long," Nathan said, patting Lucas' knee and standing up. "Should…we visit Dan…Dad?"

"I'm not sure if I should go."

"You sure? I guess I should..." Nathan trailed off. "You want to play at the Rivercourt later?"

"Can you talk to him for me?" Lucas asked, ignoring his question.

"And say what?"

"I don't know, tell him I'm sorry, ask him if he wants to see me," Lucas responded.

"You got it. But you really could go too…God, our family is so messed up!" Nathan said suddenly.

"So very true. I guess I'm gonna head home if you're going to the hospital."

"Alright man. See ya."

"Call me later and tell me how it went."

"You got it." Nathan paused for a moment, and the brothers slapped hands.

"Bye"

* * *

Lucas got home to his empty house. He really missed his mom already. He took a shower, and picked up a book. He was almost asleep when his phone rang.

* * *

**Haha, a cliffhanger! A lame one, but oh well. Thanks for all the reviews. Keep 'em coming:) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews! They were so nice, and they made my day! **

**I am a little iffy about this chapter, because this starts to deal with the issues from the finale, etc, and I was enjoying the brothers only relying on each other. Well, the real world has to come back eventually…but I will make sure the Nathan/Lucas relationship is the central part of the story.  
**

**Oh, and by the way? None of these characters, etc is mine. **

**I also apologize if some of the the events from this past season are written incorrectly, because I have missed a few episodes. **

* * *

"That was quick," Lucas said when he picked up the phone.

He couldn't hear anything, just a bunch of static.

"Nathan your reception sucks."

"Lucas?"

"Mom?"

"Hey baby, how are you?"

"Good, Mom. Did you find Andy?"

"Yeah, he just missed his flight. I'm happy I came though. It's beautiful here." Karen said.

"That's good to hear. How are you?"

"Good, were you expecting a call from Nathan?"

"Yeah. He went to visit Dan at the hospital and I wanted to know how it went,"

"Hospital? What happened?"

"Oh that's right, you don't know. Apparently someone tried to kill Dan by drugging him and then setting the dealership on fire. He's okay though, he has some burns, but he'll be alright to leave the hospital in a couple of weeks."

"Oh my God," Karen whispered.

"I know. It's scary."

"Why didn't you go with him? To the hospital with Nathan, I mean."

"Dan and I aren't really speaking right now." Lucas said.

"Oh, honey. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah, that's alright. This is long distance and all, Nathan is helping me deal with stuff."

"That's great Lucas. I guess you're right, this is probably a very expensive phone call. But you're worth it,"

"Thanks Mom. Do you know when you'll be back?"

"I'm not sure baby. I love you,"

"I love you too Mom. Say hi to Andy." Lucas said quietly, disappointed.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Lucas hung up the phone and sighed. He really needed his Mom right now. His dad hated him, his mom was away, and his Uncle Keith hadn't been around in a long time. He knew Peyton was there too, but she was having a lot of trouble as it was, and he didn't want to burden her with the Scott family issues. Having Nathan was extremely reassuring though, even though it was very new to him.

Just then, his phone rang again. Lucas chuckled.

"Speaking of which," He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"It's called call waiting, man."

"Hello to you too. Sorry, my mom called me from New Zealand."

"Really? What's she doing there?"

"Yeah, she's staying with Andy for awhile."

"That's cool. So I talked to Dad…"

"And…"

"I told him you were sorry and everything, and I think he was open to you visiting."

"_Think?_"

"Well, he didn't say for sure. I really think you should."

"I guess…"

"I'll come with you."

"Thanks. I just might take you up on that."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Yeah. When will you be here?"

"Now," Nathan said, opening the outside door to Lucas' bedroom.

"You know Nathan, when you assume you make an ass out of…"

"Shut up and let's go." Nathan smiled.

"Why am I doing this?" Lucas wondered out loud in the car.

"Because you should!"

"Why? He doesn't acknowledge me as his son. Not that I should really miss it, it only lasted for about a few months."

"Just give it a shot. Afterwards we can go play ball at the Rivercourt."

"Fine."

* * *

"Dad?" Lucas walked into the room slowly.

"So it's Dad now, eh? It's funny how trying to bring someone down makes one affectionate," Dan scoffed.

"Whatever."

"Hey, you're the one who insisted on seeing me."

"You know, I think I miss the crazy happy post-heart attack Dan," Lucas snapped. He hadn't meant to lose his temper so quickly, but he was already tense as it is.

"Why? Because I wasn't making your life miserable?"

"Partly. Just because you weren't a complete asshole, basically."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm so sure." Lucas smirked.

"Look, Lucas…"

"I shouldn't have come." Lucas interrupted. "I hope you get better soon. I really do. And I'm sorry, Dan." Lucas said, genuinely, turning to leave.

"Lucas, wait."

"What?"

"I know."

"Okay…?" He was missing what Dan meant.

"Did your medication run out?"

"Yeah. Just yesterday." Lucas said quickly, leaving before Dan could say anything else.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Nathan said, who was waiting outside by the car.

"Guess"

"Lucas, did you even try?"

"No. Why do you care?" Lucas snapped, stalking off. He couldn't believe Dan had gotten to him. Again.

"Hey." Nathan grabbed Lucas' shoulder and turned him around to face him. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He said something rude, and I just snapped. I knew that it would get really bad, so I left."

"He seemed open to seeing you I don't know…"

"I think he was. But we were both on edge. Actually…It was kind of my fault."

Nathan sighed.

"He asked about my medication."

"Really?"

"You think he might've been reaching out?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"It's so hard. I hate this. I hate this!" Lucas had tears in his eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry. Look, we don't have to play…we can just go home."

"Basketball! Oh, I definitely want to." Lucas said.

"Okay."

Almost an hour later, both boys sat down on the concrete, panting. They both were working off their emotions, Lucas especially.

"Damn, Lucas. You've been holding out on me."

"I needed to work out some stress." Lucas laughed.

"Remind me to piss you off before games this year."

"It helped. I love this game. It's therapy, it really is."

"I know what you mean."

"I'm sorry for going off at you. I know you just wanted to help."

"It's okay. I almost lost it with Dan too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I couldn't stand the fact that I was supposed to sympathize with him after everything he's done. But I had too. It was more or less expected, wasn't it?"

"At least from you."

"I'll gladly switch places."

"Trust me, you don't."

"Whatever you say."

"Whew," Lucas laughed and lay back on the concrete. He was beat.

"Do you want to stay over? I mean, Dan's not going to be back for a couple of weeks. And otherwise, you'll be all alone in that house."

"Yeah, I guess. That'd be great, actually. Wouldn't your mom mind though?"

"Nah."

"Okay. The empty house would probably drive me insane eventually." Lucas sighed.

"You okay?"

"I just miss Keith. The last time my mom was gone he stayed with me…"

"That sucks man. Have you heard from him?"

"No, I tried calling. He's never there."

"I wonder where he could be."

"Me too."

* * *

Lucas was unpacking a duffel bag in the guestroom. He couldn't everything that had happened in the past few days. It was crazy.

"My mom's at the café again, so we have to fend for ourselves tonight,"

"Oh boy," Lucas laughed.

"So, can you cook or anything?"

"Not really."

"Dude, didn't your mom ever teach you? Her food is great, my mom always talks about it."

"She tried, but…well, let's just say that the only appliance I'm allowed to use is the toaster and the coffee maker."

Nathan cracked up.

"I should order a pizza then?"

"Probably."

"This is going to sound really random, but it's been bothering me for the past few days. My mom's been acting weird ever since the fire"

"Well, she's probably freaked out about it, I mean it really sounds like a _Law and Order _storyline." Lucas said, taking a bite of his pizza.

"I know that, but she's kind of…perky. And my mom isn't like that usually."

"Yeah, it is a little weird,"

"You think that she had anything to do with…"

"No way."

"But I mean, she really hates him…and she did promise me that he wouldn't be in our lives anymore."

"Well that doesn't mean she would kill him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm just freaking out."

"Me too."

"I can't believe I said that about her."

"Don't worry about it, it's a crazy, crazy situation."

"I guess. I need to tell you something else though."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, you know how I told you about High Flyers…" 

"I completely forgot about that!" Lucas exclaimed, eyes widened.

"Yeah, me too."

"When do you leave?"

"I can't go, are you kidding me? With all that's happening?"

"Are you kidding _me_? Of course you can."

"But what about Dan, and Haley? And you."

"I'll be fine. They'll be fine."

"What about my mom?"

"She'll be fine. Deb's strong."

"I feel bad about leaving,"

"Don't."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course, man. I can hang out with Peyton,"

"And Haley?"

"Well…"

"It's okay. She's your best friend."

"Do you think you'll get back together?"

"I still don't know."

"Well, do what you got to do," Lucas said, standing up and clapping Nathan on the shoulder.

"I usually do."

"So when do you leave?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Okay. Well, I think I'll probably head back to my house once you go."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…I'd rather not have to hang around with Dan without backup."

"You did before." Nathan pointed out.

"That was before I 'betrayed' him, and he cut me off."

"Oh my God." Nathan said suddenly, his eyes widening.

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

"Your medicine."

"It's fine…"

"But you could get sick or something,"

"Well I was fine before so I'm sure I'll be okay now."

"I can't believe Dan would just let this happen to you."

"I'm okay, really. Stop worrying so much."

"I know, I know."

Nathan was lying in Lucas' bed when he got out of the shower.

"Lost, little brother?"

"I was waiting for you."

"Okay," Lucas said sitting down next to him.

"I need you to do me a favor,"

"Name it."

"Can you talk to Haley? Ask her why she left me?"

"I don't think I should get involved with that,"

"You already did," Nathan snapped.

"Right," Lucas said, his body stiffened.

"Wait, I'm sorry. That was stupid."

"And yet it was deserved."

"You don't have to talk to her…"

"No, it's fine. So, you're thinking of staying together?"

"Right now, I'm not. I think I need some time to think about it first."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'll be okay."

They sat in silence for awhile.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Go to your own room."

"I will…but I'm all comfortable here."

"You are such a dork. I'm not sharing a bed with you again!"

"I'm not tired."

"Whatever. So, are you excited?"

"For…"

"Camp, dumbass." Lucas said playfully.

"Absolutely. I just wish I felt like I was abandoning everyone."

"You're not. You've gotta do something for yourself."

"Thanks. Are you-"

"For the last time, I'll be fine. I'm not this fragile emotional wreck."

"Alright, alright."

"You have to show me what you learned when you get back."

"Absolutely, I can't have you bringing us down again." Nathan teased.

"Shut up, you know I'm awesome. How long does it last?"

"Three weeks. Just try to avoid Dan for that time."

"Oooh, challenge." Lucas smirked.

"Very funny," Nathan mumbled sleepily.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"No."

"Liar"

"Yeah…but I'll be gone in two days so you'll miss me." Nathan said.

A few moments later his even breathing indicated he was asleep.

"Yeah, I will." Lucas whispered, and turned off the light.

* * *

**Well there it is. Please tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for reviewing!  
**

**

* * *

**

Nathan woke up the next morning and flung his arm across the bed, reaching for the clock.

"Ouch…the hell? Nathan!"

"Lucas?"

"I told you to go to your own damn room. What are you, seven years old?"

"I fell asleep."

"What time is it?"

"About noon," Deb said, walking into the room.

"Hi mom."

"Hey Deb."

"Morning, boys. What, was there a monster in the closet Nathan?" Deb teased.

Lucas laughed and Nathan whacked him with the pillow.

"Ouch, such abuse today Nate."

"You asked for it."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright, do you want me to make you breakfast?"

"Wow. I have never heard that before," Nathan joked.

"Lucas do you want something?" Deb said, ignoring Nathan.

"Yes, anything is fine. Thanks."

"For me too please."

"Okay." Deb left the room.

"Crap. I have to pack still."

"I'll help you."

"And load the car…"

"I'll help you with that too."

"And say goodbye to Dan…?" Nathan said questioningly.

"Ah. Well you don't need for that."

"Come on, give it another try."

"Hell no."

"Why not?"

"I'm not the one leaving!" Lucas protested.

"Just try it, I want you guys to get along,"

"Why? Why does it matter so much?"

"Because I want a together, regular family."

"Our family is anything but normal."

"I know."

"Do you really want me to go?"

"Yeah, I would. I just want to know that while I'm gone you two aren't at each other's throats."

"Fine, but the first jackass thing he says, I'm out of there."

"Fine, fine."

* * *

"Hey dad," Nathan said opening the door.

"Hey…boys." Dan said, noticing Lucas.

"I just came to say goodbye before I went to camp."

"Oh that's right, High Flyers. This is going to be great, son. Make me proud."

"I always try, Dad." Nathan said.

"I know, son."

"Well, see you when I get back. Lucas, I'll meet you outside okay?"

"Wh-"

"It's okay, Lucas I want to talk to you."

"Okay," Lucas said after some hesitation.

"I'm sorry for cutting you off your medication. I know I have made some mistakes in the past, but I want to make them up to you."

"Now? After all this?"

"Yes. Can you give me that chance?"

"Why should I?"

"You really don't have a reason to…"

"Right. I don't." Lucas said, getting up.

"But I just need this chance," Dan said, reaching out and grabbing Lucas' wrist.

Lucas didn't know what to do. What could he do?

"Look, I know you've missed me in your life. Haven't you?" Dan asked, still gripping Lucas' wrist.

"I guess…sometimes." Lucas mumbled, not looking him in the eye.

"Look, I know you have no reason to trust me. I understand. I'll continue paying for your medication though."

"Is it a bribe?"

"No. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Lucas smiled a little.

"Well thanks," He said, getting up again.

"Lucas?" Dan said, grabbing Lucas' hand again.

"Yeah?"

"I am sorry." He said, putting his other hand on top of Lucas' hand.

"I know," Lucas said with a small smile, imitating what Dan had said in their previous visit.

Dan let go of his hand and Lucas left.

Lucas left the hospital room with a smile on his face. Why did this make him so happy? So he and his father had taken a few little steps in the right direction.

He couldn't deny it, he had always wanted this to happen in the back of his mind.

* * *

"How did it go?" Nathan asked, hitting a jammed vending machine, trying to get a candy bar.

"So much better than last time," Lucas said with a smile. He kicked the vending machine and got the candy bar loose.

"Awsome." Nathan said, breaking the candy bar in half and handing half to Lucas.

"Thanks."

They got into the car, and arrived back at the house. They went upstairs after greeting Deb to pack for High Flyers. Nathan had an early flight the next morning.

"How much stuff do you pack for 3 weeks?" Nathan asked.

"Dunno."

"Well I'll just toss in lightweight t-shirts and shorts. We'll probably get a uniform."

"Sounds good."

"I can't believe I'm actually going."

"It's about time. Maybe now you'll be worthing playing one-on-one against."

"Just keep thinking that big brother."

* * *

"Well, bye sweetie. Be safe and have fun!" Deb said the next morning at the airport. She hugged Nathan and went to the car while Lucas said goodbye.

"Knock 'em dead, bro. I want to hear all about it." Lucas said.

"You bet. Check in on my mom, will ya?"

"Of course."

"And Haley?"

"I remember what you said. I will talk to her?"

"And be like, subtle and stuff."

"Okay." Lucas said. He was about to hold out his hand to shake hands or slap hands, whatever, when Nathan hugged him. Lucas returned the embrace.

"I know we haven't had the best relationship in the world, but we're going to be good now and I…"

"I love you too Nathan," Lucas said, smirking.

"Right." Nathan said, smiling.

Deb came up with his last bag, gave him one more hug and he went to the boarding area. He turned to Lucas and gave him a quick nod before boarding the plane.

Lucas returned the gesture and got into the car with his own bags and returned to his own empty house.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay! I am thinking of just having one chapter with Nathan away, or maybe have him come back in the next chapter after a time jump. Thoughts? **


	5. Chapter 5

"Mom, when are you going to come home?" Lucas asked later that night.

"By the end of the summer, honey. I promise." Karen assured him.

"Okay, I just miss you, and Keith isn't here, and Nathan…" Lucas was getting upset.

"I know. I'm so sorry. It was selfish of me-"

"No, mom. You need to do things for yourself. I just miss you."

"I miss you too sweetie. I'll call you soon."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too baby." Karen said and hung up.

Lucas hung up the phone and put his head down on the table.

"You look great."

"Haley…"

"In the flesh."

"Where have you _been? _I know you've been around for awhile," Lucas said.

"I've been trying to call you for days. Where have _you _been?"

"Oh. At Nathan's."

"Oh…"

"Look, Haley, I know you came back to reconcile with him."

"You don't know that," Haley said, defensive.

"I absolutely do. You wouldn't come back for me, so you had to come back for him!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You've changed, Haley. You really have."

"Lucas, I thought we've been through this!"

"I know, I know. We talked about it. You will always be my best friend, you know that. But, he's my brother and one of my friends too, and he has been missing you! He hasn't been the same since you just LEFT him!"

"Lucas!"

"What? What, Haley? He's been a wreck, and you know it. I sat in a hospital praying for him to be okay! He crashed his car because of you and I was there, holding onto him for dear life not knowing that he would be okay."

"Lucas…"

"I just found him Haley, I can't keep coming close to losing people in my life. It's too hard. I can't, I can't."

Haley sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"I'm not leaving again. I want to make things work."

"Then why would you sign those papers?"

"I didn't sign them. I don't want it to be over."

Lucas didn't say anything. Why the hell did he say he would do this?

"Does he want it to be over?"

"I don't know, Haley."

"Yes you do."

"It's not my place."

"Fine." Haley huffed, standing up.

"Why are you mad at me, Haley?"

"Because I came to see you, to talk, and you won't talk to me. Well, you did yell though."

"I didn't mean to. I just can't deal with this all." Lucas said, flopping down on his bed.

"With what?"

"I don't really feeling like talking about it."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry Haley. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"What, is that Nathan's job?"

"Why did you leave?" Lucas said, ignoring her question.

"I just wanted to do something for me. To break away from Tutor Girl, or Mrs. Scott, and it worked. People liked me, they enjoyed my music. And it felt really good."

"Wait, felt? As in past tense?"

"I think I might quit."

"Wow."

"Do you think I should?"

"It's your life."

"Yeah it is…"

"Look Haley, Nathan isn't coming back for awhile, you guys can talk about it then. But can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Can you check on Peyton? I feel like I've been neglecting her."

"Neglecting her? She's not your child, Luke."

"I know, but she was upset about that lady Ellie, and I haven't talked to her in awhile."

"Why?"

"Nathan and I kind of have been holed up in the house, or visiting Dan."

"Dan? Really?"

"Yeah, I want to suck all the poison out my life, so to speak. I think it would help me."

"Good for you, Luke."

"Thanks, you should try it."

"Definitely…"

"So are we cool?"

"Yeah. I guess I might be hearing some yelling in the future."

"Sucks."

"Yeah, but I'll just have to deal with it."

Lucas nodded.

"Night, loser." Haley said, leaning down and hugging him.

"Night, buddy."

* * *

"Oh, Lucas you would love this restaurant that we went to last night it was…"

Lucas tuned her out as he got ready to go visit Dan. It wasn't like he was learning anything new.

"…and we had such a nice dinner. I think…he might be the one, Lucas."

"That's so great mom." Lucas said, finally taking interest.

"You know, Andy's house is wonderful. You should fly out and see it."

"I don't know, mom."

"Well, we'll see. I've got to go, love you."

"Me too." Lucas said, then hung up. He sighed.

* * *

"So your mom thinks New Zealand is an ideal place to live?" Dan asked. He and Lucas were trying to bond. Dan was sitting straight up, asking about Lucas' life. He was definitely feeling better.

"I guess. She keeps going on about how it's so beautiful and there are so many things to do here."

"Would you go live with her?"

"I don't want to leave." Lucas crossed his arms on top the side of Dan's bed and buried his head in them.

"You don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"You could always live with me."

"That might be cool, actually." Lucas said, surprising himself and Dan.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well I mean, I stayed over for awhile already this summer and it…didn't suck."

"How poetic." Dan laughed.

Lucas smiled a little. It wasn't so bad, was it?

* * *

"It's indie rock and roll for me…" Lucas sang offkey as he pulled up to the airport to pick up Nathan. Deb was at the café still, so he had to pick up Nathan himself.

He didn't see Nathan waiting outside, so he walked inside to the gate that he said that he was getting off at.

Somebody tackled him from behind, laughing.

Who else?

"Jeez, Nathan I have a weak heart." Lucas joked.

"Haha, how's that going anyway?"

"Fine."

"Where's my mom?"

"Work."

"So they just sent you?" Nathan said, feigning sadness.

"Yep." Lucas laughed.

"Nice."

"So how was camp?" Lucas asked, as they drove home.

"Boot camp. I've never played that hard."

"Good, now you won't suck."

"I can kick your ass anytime."

"We'll see little brother."

"You know, I never thought you'd be the one I would miss the most," Nathan said, suddenly getting serious.

"Aww, Nate, you softie." Lucas said, pulling into the driveway.

"Shut up."

"Are you sure you won't move back in?" Nathan asked as he and Lucas took his stuff upstairs.

"No, actually."

"Really?"

"Well my mom will be in New Zealand until the end up the summer, maybe longer because she can't stop talking about it. So Dan…suggested that maybe…I come and live here for awhile."

"Yeah, we'll see. Oh, it's getting late, my mom might be calling soon to rave about New Zealand and Andy."

"Okay man, see you tomorrow."

"Night, Nathan."

"Hey Lucas." Nathan said, grabbing his shoulder from behind.

"Yes?"

"I love you, big brother." Nathan said quietly.

Lucas chuckled.

"Good to know."

The boys smiled and highfived before departing that night.

* * *

Just like clockwork, Karen called just when Lucas got home.

"Hey mom."

"How did you know it was me?" Karen laughed.

"You've called me every day around this time for the last three weeks."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Lucas chuckled.

"Well I have some news for you," Karen said.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reviewing! I love to hear your thoughts and I'm glad people like my story! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay. So I personally think this chapter might be a bit boring, but I need a little filler I guess to set up the next part of the story.**

**

* * *

**  
"What kind of news?"

"I'm so happy about this. I think you will be too."

"Well I could be, if you told me."

"Andy asked me to marry him."

Lucas was stunned.

"Wh-what did you say?"

"Yes, of course."

"That's great…"

"You don't sound excited."

"Well, you're telling me over the phone that you're engaged." Lucas said.

"I guess it seems a little impersonal."

'Yeah, especially for your own son."

"I'm sorry Lucas. I really am."

"So…tell me all about it." Lucas said, ignoring her apology.

"Well, we went out to dinner, which was lovely, and then we sat outside and watched the stars. He told me how much he loved me, how happy I had made him, and he asked me to be his wife."

"That sounds romantic."

"It was."

"I'm glad you two got over your issues."

"What issues?"

"Well he didn't seem to believe that you were ready to be commited to him."

"Did he tell you that?" Karen said, worried.

"No, you told me that." Lucas said evenly.

"Oh." Karen laughed lightly.

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess coming here proved to him my commitment. I'm really glad I came."

"I know, I know, it's beautiful there." Lucas said sarcastically.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that everytime we talk, you always go on and on about how wonderful it is there, and how you wished you could live there."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Do you want to move there?"

"What?"

"Did I stutter?" Lucas snapped.

"Excuse me."

"I'm sorry."

"Okay then. For your information, I just might."

"What?"

"Lucas, is that so bad?"

"You uprooting me from my school in senior year? Yeah, I would say so."

"Oh honey, I didn't mean now."

* * *

"So your dad is coming home in about a week, Deb said to Nathan as she set the table. 

"What does this mean?"

"Well, we'll take it day by day."

"I just want a normal family. And so does Lucas."

"Have you been talking about this?"

"Yeah."

"I see."

"I think I'm going to go see him, and ask him if he wants to move in here until his mom gets back."

"That sounds like a nice idea. At least he cleans up after himself."

"Nice. I'll be back." Nathan said, and drove to Lucas' house.

* * *

He walked through the back door and could hear Lucas on the phone. He could tell it was important, so he stood in the doorway and waited until he was done. 

"When are you planning on getting married?" he heard Lucas ask. Nathan was intrigued. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he couldn't help it.

"I don't know."

"Well if it's after high school, I might just stay here."

"Lucas…"

"Even if it is sooner rather than later, I might just stay here." Lucas scoffed.

"Lucas!"

"I can live with Dad" Lucas said. Nathan looked up, surprised. Well that was a total turn around.

"Dad!"

"Yes. Him. I've been talking with him, and he said I could move back there if I want."

"He what?"

"Well, he is my father."

"Lucas, what has gotten into you. You're suddenly getting along with Dan?"

"We've been talking a little bit, and he'll be back from the hospital next week."

"So you'll be a happy family?" Karen asked.

"Maybe." Lucas said, knowing he was hurting her.

"Lucas."

"I'm not trying to be a brat, it's just how I feel. Please don't hang up." Lucas pleaded.

"What is the matter with you?"

"You leave, and I thought you'd be home in a few weeks at most, and now you're talking about living there and I hear over the damn phone that you're getting married."

"I didn't want to have to wait months until I told you."

"Months?"

"Yes, well, school doesn't start until September…"

"I need my mom! I know I sound eight years old, but I can't live alone yet."

"Honey…go live with Nathan for awhile." Karen said, surprising them both.

"What?"

"I think it will be good for you."

"What about me? Why can't you come home?"

"Andy needs to help his mom still."

"I need you though. Andy can take care of her."

"I know. We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Fine…"

"Lucas, I love you."

"Bye." Lucas hung up.

"…Hey." Nathan said uncertainly, coming into the room.

Lucas turned around, surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to hang out."

"Oh. So…I guess you heard."

"Well, you weren't exactly whispering. I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"About your mom. And about eavesdropping."

"It's okay."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm just so mad at her, and I can't really even explain why. I am being selfish."

"Maybe."

"So I have a question." Lucas said

"Ask away."

"Can I come back to live with you guys?"

* * *

**I'll try to be faster with the updates. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, I'd love to hear more feedback and ideas from you all! **

**I also might change the title of the story, just so you all know. **


	7. Chapter 7

For the third time that year, Lucas was unpacking his stuff in Dan's house.

"You might want to make this at least semi-permanent." Deb smiled gave him a hug before she went downstairs.

The brothers had dinner with Deb and then played basketball at the Rivercourt, and returned home exhausted, so they went to sleep.

* * *

Nathan got back from jogging around the block and got a bottle of water from the kitchen.

"Hey sweetie." Deb said.

"Hey."

"Did you have a good run?"

"Yeah, watch out, it's really hot outside."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem." He said and went to watch T.V.

Twenty minutes later Deb came into the living room.

"It's almost noon, so I have to head over to the café."

"Alright."

"I'll be back late, so you might want to stop and see your father or something."

"Probably will. He's coming home day after tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. Okay, I'm off. See you later tonight."

"Bye."

"Oh, and Nathan?"

"Yeah."

"Don't let Lucas sleep in too much longer."

"Sheesh I thought he was up already."

"Nope, sound asleep when I was just up there."

"Okay."

"Bye!" Deb said and left.

* * *

"Well congratulations Lucas, even I don't sleep until noon." Nathan whispered in Lucas's ear.

"Huh?"

"It's noon, bro."

"Damn." Lucas said, sitting up, and Nathan was surprised to see dark circles under his brother's eyes.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Nathan asked.

Lucas sat up and ran his hands through his hair.

"I just had some trouble sleeping."

"Thinking about your mom?"

"Surprisingly, no. I just had some chest pains and it was kind of hard to go to sleep."

"Did you take aspirin or something?"

"No, it's just something that happens sometimes with HCM."

"Oh right." Nathan said, remembering the reading he did when he first found out about the disease.

"Yeah. I'm going to go shower."

"I'll be downstairs."

* * *

Lucas got dressed and went downstairs a little while later and heard the familiar sound of a basketball pounding the pavement.

"It's like a sickness with us, isn't it?" Lucas joked.

"Pretty much. Obsession is in our blood." Nathan said.

Both boys laughed a little awkwardly, not knowing what to think of their current status with their father.

"I have some wonderful news for you." Nathan said.

"Oh really." Lucas questioned, shooting the ball. "Swish. So pretty!" he laughed.

"Our grandparents might be coming to visit. All hell broke loose the last time they were here, so it should be a charming visit." Nathan said.

"I was sure I heard the word wonderful in that description."

"Heavy with sarcasm. You might find it to be wonderful."

"Because?"

"You didn't tell Grandpa to shut up last time he visited and he won't have any anger towards you."

"I see." Lucas laughed.

"Did you know he keeps in contact with your mom?"

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Haley saw him once at the café when they were here about 4…or 5 months ago and he was asking for her."

"Huh."

"Speaking of which…did you talk to her?"

"Not since she called last night."

"Not your mom, smart one. Haley."

"Oh. Right." Lucas said and yawned. "I didn't learn anything new, Nate. It's the same thing she's been saying all along, about her dreams and stuff."

"Thanks for trying."

"No problem. Although I kind of yelled at her a little."

"Because?"

"I was upset, about something or other, and I yelled at her about how much it sucked that she left and all we went through without her."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Just letting off steam, you know."

Lucas stood there dribbling the ball for a moment, then without words, he passed the ball to Nathan and they began to play.

They continued to play for about half an hour, Nathan jumping up to dunk for the winning shot.

Lucas jumped up too to try and block him. Nathan got by anyway, and Lucas landed on the ground a little unsteady.

"Luke are you okay?" Nathan said worriedly. The ball dropped and rolled away as Nathan came to his brother's side.

Lucas took some deep breaths and coughed a little.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little winded, I guess." He said, and sat down on the driveway, still short of breath.

"Are you sure." Nathan said.

"I'm sure." Lucas said and stood up.

"Let's go inside." Nathan said,

Lucas sat down on the couch, and Nathan brought him some water.

"Thanks." He said, taking a sip and then coughing a little.

"I know you say you're fine, Lucas, but that is not normal."

"To get a little winded? Yes it is Nathan."

"Are you sure you should be playing basketball?"

"I have the medication. Or I will soon, once Dad gets home."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"Are you…"

"Yes. I am sure."

"I believe you, but if something happens to you when we're playing, then you shouldn't play anymore. Nothing's worth the risk of hurting yourself or dying."

"Alright, big brother." Lucas frowned and took another sip of water.

"Nah. Just a guy looking out for his brother that he just found and doesn't want to lose."

"Aww, we're getting all sentimental here."

"Be serious. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thanks, Nathan. I mean it."

"Good. Now I am freaking starving so I am having lunch."

"I'll be there in a minute." Lucas said.

He went upstairs and changed clothes.

He could hear the phone ring, then he heard Nathan call out and ask him to answer it.

"Hello, um, Scott residence?" This was weird

"Nathan?" A gruff voiced demanded.

"This is Lucas." Lucas said uncertainly.

"Well I'll be damned…" The man responded thoughtfully.

"…who's this?"

"This is your grandpa young man."

Nathan poked his head into the room and Lucas motioned for him to come over.

"Who is it?" He mouthed.

"Dan's father." Lucas mouthed back.


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry for the delay, school started this week. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**In this chapter, we see some of the bad ass Nathan from right after Haley left him, and it could hurt his newfound relationship with his brother.**

**

* * *

**

"Get rid of him" Nathan said.

"Gosh, I'll have Deb call you back. Nice talking to you, bye!" Lucas said and hung up.

"Did you just say gosh?"

"Shut up."

"Thanks. I doubt Dad would want them around."

"Probably not. I heard what happened last time."

"From Haley?"

"Yeah.."

"I think I've made my decision about her."

"Really?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…I don't think I can do it. At least not now." Nathan said, sitting down.

Lucas sat down next to him.

"I'm really sorry that this all happened." Lucas said, rubbing Nathan's shoulder.

"It just sucks because this is the first time a breakup has been really bad for me. I mean with Peyton it was kind of bad, but I got over it."

"When are you going to do it?"

"I guess I should go now." Nathan said, getting up.

"I'm really sorry." Lucas said, hugging his brother.

"Thanks."

* * *

Haley had been pretty much a hermit since her last talk with Lucas. She and Peyton had a few conversations over the phone, but that was pretty much it. Peyton had been busy with her father trying to figure everything out. For now she was staying in a hotel.

She was about to get something to eat, when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Haley, where have you been? How could you leave the tour like that. We were going to extend it!" Chris said.

"How did you get my number?"

"I have my sources."

* * *

Nathan got out of the elevator and headed to Haley's room. The concierge was willing to let him go up there because he knew that him and Haley were married. That was the beauty of small towns. Everyone knew all your secrets.

He could hear Haley's voice from inside her door, so he just stood and listened.

"Look Chris…"

That was it. Nathan pounded on the door.

"Hold on a minute, Chris." She said and opened the door.

"Nathan?" She gasped. "Let me call you back, Chris. On your cell."

"This is just fantastic Haley. I came here to tell you that our relationship was over, at least for now, and I was really broken up about it. Now it just became a lot easier." He snapped and walked away.

"Nathan!" She called after him, following him to the elevator.

"Have a nice life, Haley." He said, and pressed the button to close the doors

* * *

. 

Lucas decided to take a walk before Deb returned home with dinner. It was so nice outside, and he felt like summer was flying by already. It was already the middle of July.

It was getting late, so he headed back towards Dan's house. He wasn't going to call it home…yet.

He found Nathan at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers on the table.

"How'd it go…?" He asked tentatively.

"Oh, wonderful, she was talking with Chris." Nathan said, getting up.

Lucas could tell he had been doing some drinking.

"Nathan, I know you're upset, but you can't go and get drunk."

"Why not? I know you've done some drinking in the past. Don't be such a hypocrite." Nathan slurred.

"That pretty much stopped once Keith and I got into an accident because of his drinking." Lucas said as calmly as he could.

"Whatever."

"Nathan, come on, lets sit down and sober up before Deb comes home." Lucas said, trying to get Nathan to sit down.

"Don't push me." Nathan said.

The front door opened, and Deb walked in, carrying bags of takeout.

"Nathan, grow up. I'm just trying to help you."

"I said GET OFF ME!" Nathan yelled, and shoved Lucas with pretty good force considering he was drunk, and Lucas landed hard on the floor.

"Oh my God!" Deb said, walking in on the scene. She ran over to Lucas and helped him stand up.

Lucas backed away from Nathan slowly, slightly scared of him.

Nathan just stood there, stunned. That certainly sobered him up.

* * *

**Gasp!**

**Reviews make me happy, and encourage me to write. **

**So…thoughts? Comments? Questions? Hopes? Dreams? **


	9. Chapter 9

**It took me seven tries to upload this. Beacause my computer hates me. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you okay?" Deb asked.

Lucas didn't respond, he just stood there and stared at Nathan, both looking equally shocked. Lucas turned around and left without a word.

Deb seemed to break out her shock once she heard the front door slam.

"Nathan Scott, what the HELL did I just walk in on?"

"I don't know what happened, I just…"

"You decided to get drunk because your marriage to Haley is over? Your brother decides to help you, and I walk in on you shoving him to the ground!" Deb yelled.

"Please don't yell." Nathan said, rubbing his head.

"Fine. I won't. Take some aspirin and go to bed. We can talk about this when I bring your father home tomorrow."

"I have to go after him." Nathan said, heading out of the kitchen.

"You don't have to do anything right now. In fact, I think he'll be a little better off without you right now."

"But…"

"Just go upstairs."

Nathan hesitated.

"Now." Deb said firmly.

* * *

Haley had been crying for a while now, not knowing what to do. She decided that she needed some air, and found herself walking down the street towards the Rivercourt.

She was surprised to find her best friend already sitting on the concrete, looking very lost and confused, and a little scared.

"Luke are you okay? Is it Dan?" She said, sitting next to him.

"No."

"Your mom?"

"No."

"Lucas talk to me."

"Nathan hit me."

"What?"

"Well, he shoved me actually. He has good strength for someone who was drinking." Lucas said matter of factly.

"What happened?"

"He was getting drunk over you, I guess. I tried to get him sobered up before Deb came home, and I guess I pushed too hard."

"By trying to help him?"

"Maybe I should've given him some space, I mean I imagine it just happened right?"

Haley nodded.

"So I push him too hard, and he gets mad. Understandably."

"Lucas, don't do this. He had no right to purposely hurt you. You were just trying to help him."

"I don't know why this is so weird for me, I mean we've fought many times. Both verbal and physical fights. It's nothing new really."

"It hurt more because this time you were in a really good place and you didn't do anything to deserve it."

"I've never done anything to him to deserve getting in a fistfight. Except make some crack about Chris once." Lucas said sadly.

"Lucas…"

"This is such crap. I want to yell at him, and yet I feel sorry for him too."

"I'm sorry." Haley said.

"I'm sorry too." Lucas said, putting his arm around her.

"I guess you're kind of stuck in the middle, huh?"

"Guess so."

"Don't hate him, Luke."

"You either."

"I better get going." Haley said, standing up.

"Me too, Deb might get worried."

"That sounds so strange."

"I know. It's weird to think its Deb and Dan who are expecting me now, and not my mom."

"Yeah."

"I miss her."

"I know you do." Haley said, hugging him.

"Living there has been pretty good though."

"I bet."

"I just can't call it home yet."

"It will get better."

"Thanks Hales."

"Anytime."

Lucas walked off towards Dan's house, feeling very conflicted still. His arm was still a little sore from where he landed, but he knew he was fine.

He walked wordlessly past Deb and up to his room and went to sleep.

Nathan woke up the next morning feeling doubly awful. Not only was he a total jackass, but he had a hangover.

He glanced at the clock. 7:30. It was early, Lucas wouldn't be up.

He quietly opened his brother's bedroom door, where Lucas was sleeping on his side.

Nathan sat down next to him and gently called out his name.

Lucas woke up instantly, but didn't turn over because he knew it wasn't Deb waking him up.

"Hey.." Nathan said, touching his shoulder.

Lucas visibly flinched and turned away slightly.

Nathan sighed.

"I was a complete mess last night. I never, ever should have taken it out on you, and I am so sorry."

Silence.

"Luke, please talk to me. I'm so sorry."

"Okay" Lucas said quietly.

"I know it might take awhile to get over this, I decided to be all high and mighty and shove you around. I was an idiot."

"Yeah."

"I'll let you go back to sleep. I'm sorry." He said one more time, putting his chin on Lucas' shoulder and looking down at him, even though Lucas hadn't made eye contact yet.

He got up and left the room, closing the door quietly. He leaned against it, rubbing his head.

On the other side of the door, Lucas sighed and rubbed his arm where a bruise had appeared.

* * *

**Angst!**

**Thanks for much for reading. **

**Please review, you all are so great :)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Nathan definitely couldn't sleep after that, and the only place he could think to go to was the hospital.

"Nathan what are you doing here?" Dan asked.

"I can't visit my dad?" Nathan said lightly.

"I was just surprised because your mom in coming in a few hours to pick me up."

"Oh that's right." He said absently.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Why do you think something is bothering me?"

"You just don't seem like yourself. And aside from school I don't think you've ever willingly woken up before 11 at least. A bad habit that is probably going to rub off on your brother."

"Already has."

"Great." Dan said sarcastically.

"Listen, don't get mad, but I am actually kind of grounded right now…" Nathan said.

"What did you do?"

"Well, Haley and I broke up."

"And…"

"I decided to drown my sorrows, using your liquor stash."

"Nathan, when are you going to grow up and be more responsible? So your mother caught you drinking and grounded you. I say good for her."

"Actually Lucas found me and tried to help me sober up. However I was not in the mood to be helped, so I kind of shoved him to the ground and that's when mom walked in."

Dan couldn't believe how he was feeling. He was angry on Lucas's behalf and this was very new to him.

"How long are you grounded?" He asked simply.

"Indefinitely."

"How is Lucas?"

"He's a little hurt physically, probably more emotionally, and he isn't really speaking to me a lot."

"Understandable."

"I apologized to him. I feel horrible."

"You should. Its good that you apologized though. You two will be able to work this out eventually."

"I guess. I should be getting home, I need to talk to Lucas again."

"No you don't. Give him some space."

"You think if I just let him be, he'll want to talk about it eventually?"

"Absolutely."

"I don't want him to hate me anymore."

"I doubt he hates you."

"He wouldn't even look at me this morning and flinched the first time I touched him."

"The wounds are still fresh so to speak."

"I guess. I should get home anyway, I probably have to do a lot of chores."

"I'll see you this afternoon."

"Okay" Nathan said, getting up. He couldn't believe that he and Dan had a normal conversation.

"Thanks Dad." He said.

"Don't make any plans for quite awhile." Dan said.

* * *

Lucas decided to run around the block to help him think. His cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket, and when he answered it he heard Karen's voice on the other line. 

"Hey Lucas, I tried to call you at the house but then I realized you must have…"

"Yeah I am living with Dan, Deb and Nathan. At least for now."

"How is it?"

"Its…fine." Lucas said. He didn't want to tell his mom about Nathan, or how he still felt out of place there.

"How is Dan?"

"Good, good. He's being released from the hospital today."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah…"

"Well…I better go. Say hi to Deb for me."

"Will do." Lucas said, and flipped his phone shut.

* * *

He immediately went upstairs to take a shower before Dan came home.

By the time he came back downstairs Deb was already gone, and Nathan was sitting at the kitchen table.

Lucas wasn't sure how to act, so he was about to leave when Nathan looked up from the magazine he was reading.

"My mom called, they're on their way home."

"Okay."

"Where were you?" Nathan asked, attempting at least somewhat pleasant conversation.

"Running. Needed to think."

"Oh…so…" Nathan prompted.

"So now I'm here." Lucas said simply, taking a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He saw Dan and Deb walking up to the front door.

"They're home." Nathan said.

"Hey boys!" Dan said, pretending that he hadn't just seen Nathan just a few hours before. He wasn't sure if Deb knew that Nathan had visited him.

"Hey, welcome home." Nathan said, and gave Dan an awkward hug.

"Looks like we're all finally living together." Dan said to Lucas.

"Seems to be." He replied. He was surprised when Dan hugged him too.

After making small talk, avoiding the major problem between his sons, Dan decided to go upstairs and rest a bit before dinner.

Deb smiled at Lucas and Nathan, and headed into the kitchen.

Before Nathan could say another word, Lucas pulled a paperback out of his back pocket and went upstairs.

He was just passing Deb and Dan's room when Dan called him in.

"Lucas. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Okay." He said, sitting down.

"What are you reading?"

"Catcher in the Rye."

"Nice. For school?"

"Nah. Just because."

"That's good. Look, Nathan told me what happened."

Lucas looked down.

"Are you alright?"

"Just a little sore."

"And you and Nathan?"

"He told me he was sorry."

"He is. He came to visit me earlier."

"Oh."

"Now I'm definitely angry about this, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or unsafe in this house. This is your home too."

"Thanks. I think its just hard to adjust."

"Because of your mom?"

"Yeah, and it's just all so new to me. She called me earlier."

"How did that go?"

"She seemed surprised that I was here. Even though she told me to come here."

"Really."

"Yeah. And it was just so awkward, it was like we were different people. She didn't even say anything about coming home, and what if she doesn't want to? What if she hates me and would just rather be there with Andy?"

"Lucas, your mom loves you more than anything in the world. We have our differences, but I don't want you to doubt that, ever."

"Yeah…I guess. Thank you."

"Anytime. I promise that you and I will have a better relationship now."

"That's what I've always wanted…in the back of my mind…even when I said I hated you." Lucas admitted.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"Even if my mom comes back, I still have to choose between you two, don't I?"

"Not necessarily. I'm sure if you really wanted it, your mom and I could work out a joint custody arrangement, especially since she encouraged you to come here in the first place."

"I never thought of it that way."

"Things are going to be different. Anything's possible now."

"I guess so. So…I should let you rest. Thanks for the talk."

"You're welcome."

Lucas walked out of the room and almost collided with Nathan while turning a corner in the hallway.

"Hey." Nathan said.

"Hey.."

"Um, we forgot to tell my mom that Grandpa called and now they freaked out and are going to be coming here in a few days."

"I completely forgot."

"Me too. But yeah, I though I'd let you know."

"Okay" Lucas said, and walked away.

Nathan sighed.

At least they were talking.

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**Thanks for the reviews! As always, you guys rock :) **

**So...yes another angsty-ish chapter, but things will get better soon, I promise!**

**I'd love to hear any thoughts or ideas! **


	11. Chapter 11

A few days later, Nathan was absently playing with a basketball in his hands on his bed. Over the past few days, he and Lucas made some small talk, but Lucas still seemed hesitant to talk about anything. Now his grandparents were on their way and he didn't know what to do.

Soft knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey…they're here."

"Okay."

"Yeah." Lucas said, turning to leave.

"Wait. We really need to talk."

"But they're…"

"Dad and my mom can hold their attention for a little bit."

"Fine."

"I need to know we're okay. I can't stand us not talking, I know what I did was completely horrible, and I am so sorry. I need to know you can forgive me." Nathan pleaded.

"I just needed some space, that's all. But it's not that easy as you apologizing, I felt like we had a good relationship beginning, a trust."

"I understand…"

"Boys! Come down and see your grandparents!" Dan called.

Lucas glanced at Nathan one more time and headed downstairs. He was excited to meet his grandparents, but nervous because Royal sounded kind of scary.

"Lucas!" May exclaimed when they came downstairs. She hugged a surprised Lucas, who returned the embrace, and then she hugged Nathan.

"It's nice to meet you." Lucas said awkwardly.

"How do you do, Lucas." Royal said, shaking his hand.

"Fine thanks. Nice to meet you too."

"Indeed it is." Royal said.

Lucas stood there, glancing at Dan, unsure of what to say. Dan rubbed his shoulder.

"You're tall, but awfully skinny for a basketball player." Royal commented.

Nathan chuckled a little just out of habit.

"That's what the coach tells me." Lucas responded.

"Whitey's a good man. You should listen to him." Royal said. He turned to Nathan.

"Good to see you're not in your underwear this time." Royal commented.

"What?" Lucas laughed.

"Last time we came here a few months ago your brother answered the door in his boxers and a t-shirt." May said, smiling.

"Yeah well, it's 5:00 in the afternoon now, so I figured it was time to get dressed." Nathan said sarcastically.

Lucas chuckled and looked at Dan who was smiling.

"So Lucas how is basketball?" Royal asked at dinner later that night.

"Good. Nathan and I getting ready for the new season."

"Is that right…" Royal said thoughtfully, pleased to hear Nathan was playing again.

Just then the phone rang.

"Nathan would you answer that?" Deb asked.

Nathan got up and picked up the phone.

"Hey Nathan it's Peyton."

"Hey, I thought you were with your Dad in some exotic place." Nathan said jokingly.

"Yeah, actually we're down in Georgia loser, but I wanted to kind of warn Lucas that Brooke called me and said she was going to be home soon."

"Jeez. Okay…thanks."

"No problem."

"So we'll talk later?"

"Yeah." Peyton said.

Nathan hung up and returned to the table.

"Peyton called, Brooke is coming home soon." Nathan said to Lucas.

"Oh how nice." Deb said obliviously.

"Yeah…" Lucas trailed off.

"Hey mom, can Lucas and I be excused?" Nathan asked.

Lucas looked at Nathan questioningly.

"I guess so. Don't leave the house though." Deb said pointedly.

"We're just going upstairs to pack for the beach house."

"Okay."

Once upstairs, Lucas sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I thought I'd help you get away from the parents and grandparents so you could appropriately freak out about this.

"Crap. I haven't given Brooke any thought in the longest time."

"That's kind of good though, right?"

"Yeah. But now I don't know how to deal with this."

"Look, trust me I know, giving her some space is the best thing."

"Two months isn't enough space?"

"Good point…"

"I guess I should just apologize for forcing all that on her and say we can be friends if that's what she wants." Lucas said, facing Nathan.

"Good plan."

"It's just not what I want."

"I know."

Lucas sighed and put his head on Nathan's shoulder. Nathan patted his brother's back, glad that they were getting back to where they once were.

"I don't want to be mad at you anymore." Lucas said quietly.

The next day, Lucas and Nathan brought down their suitcases full of stuff for the beach house to find May and Deb making breakfast.

"It smells good in here." Lucas commented.

"I should hope so." May said, smiling.

"Good morning boys. Are you are all packed?" Deb asked.

"Yeah…hopefully we have enough stuff." Nathan said.

The Scott family enjoyed a nice pleasant breakfast together, where nobody brought up any past conflicts; they just enjoyed a nice summer day.

May gave each of her grandsons a hug, and Royal shook their hands, genuinely happy with how they both were turning out.

"Okay boys, put your bags in the car and we'll head over to the house." Dan said. May and Royal decided they should leave that night instead of that morning.

When they got there, Nathan and Lucas threw their stuff in their rooms without unpacking and headed out to the beach. It was pretty deserted because it was getting dark outside and therefore kind of chilly.

Dan was making steak on the grill while he and Deb watched Nathan and Lucas wander along the beach. Deb walked closer to them with her digital camera. She wanted Karen to be able to see how her son was doing.

"It must be freezing." Lucas commented.

"Probably is." Nathan said with an evil smile, and he grabbed Lucas from behind and carried him into the water, with Lucas laughing and trying to break free.

Nathan tripped a couple of feet in the water, and they both went under.

"DAMN! That is freezing!" Lucas said, standing up and shaking water out of his hair.

Nathan did the same thing and laughed.

"You think you'll go all commando on us again and keep your head shaved?" He asked.

"Nah." Lucas said, shaking his head so water sprayed Nathan and bolted out of the water.

"What possessed you two to go into the water?" Deb asked, setting the table.

"I didn't _plan _on it." Lucas said.

"Doesn't look like it." Deb said, showing him a picture she took with her digital camera. Lucas had a hilarious shocked expression, and Nathan was grinning.

"I didn't know it was going to be that cold." Nathan laughed.

"Yeah whatever." Lucas said, laughing.

Deb smiled, glad that they were beginning to get along again.

"In the past I've basically used your bed as a dresser." Nathan said, unzipping his bag.

"Great." Lucas said, putting away the last of his clothes and pulling out a book.

"We should go running tomorrow." Nathan said, stuffing his clothes in the dresser.

Lucas looked up from his book and laughed at the messy drawers.

"Okay, what time?"

"Probably early. Don't want to run into too many people."

"Ugh."

"Yeah, well, we should've started this like a week ago. Basketball is coming up and I have to get up to where I was by then."

"What do you mean?"

"The injury from the car accident. I mean, High Flyers thoroughly kicked my ass and got me into gear, but I've been lazy with keeping up with it."

"Right, right. I'll help you."

"Thanks. You also need to bulk up some." Nathan pointed up.

"I hate doing weights." Lucas laughed.

"Yeah me too, but you could also eat more."

"I eat fine. I just have to do the weights more."

"I can't believe Whitey didn't get on your ass more about it."

"He mentioned something after the second game…" Lucas trailed off.

"What's wrong?"

"After that game, Brooke was in my car, getting changed, and it seems like every since them, my life's been crazy." Lucas said.

Nathan laughed.

"Good old Brooke." He said.

"Yeah…"

"She'll come around, Luke."

"I'm so nervous about her coming home. How do I act after that? She must think I'm crazy."

"Maybe all the time helped her realize that she's totally into you. Which she is."

"How do you know?"

"I could just tell. Like when I told you to go tell her how you felt before."

"Right…"

Nathan tried to shut the dresser but his haphazard clothing wouldn't let him.

Lucas cracked up and ducked from the pile of clothes Nathan threw at him.

**

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**Aww, see with the cuteness? **

**Please leave me a review. They are oh so lovely. Thanks to all those who did last chapter, you guys rock!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Lucas ran to catch up with Nathan and trying to catch his own breath.

Nathan stopped in front of the house and took a deep breath while Lucas walked up slowly breathing heavily.

"What the hell…" Lucas said, opening the door.

"Run much Luke?"

"Not like that. Not at 6:00 in the morning."

"Better get used to it."

"Why's that?"

"Senior year, we have to be at the top of our game."

"Mmhmm yeah." Lucas said, grabbing a bottle of water.

Dan walked into the kitchen and surveyed his sons.

"Went running, eh?"

"Yep." Lucas said, taking a swig of his water.

"You look beat." Dan commented.

"Lack of sleep. I had an annoying wake up call from my brother... every day this past week"

"You'll thank me later." Nathan said, patting Lucas on the back and grabbing a box of cereal.

"Hey Lucas come here a sec." Dan said and led him to the living room.

"I refilled your prescription." He said, handing Lucas a bottle.

"Thank you." Lucas said.

"I want you to know how sorry I am for trying to withhold these from you." Dan said.

"It's okay."

"How could it possibly be okay for me to-"

"Anything's possible now right?" Lucas said.

"Right." Dan smiled.

Lucas went back into the kitchen and found Nathan eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

"Hungry?" Nathan asked.

"Hell yes." Lucas said and poured himself a bowl.

Nathan's cell phone, which was sitting on the table, started ringing and vibrating around the table.

"Hello?" He said, flipping it open.

"Nathan it's Brooke, I'm back from California. Do you happen to know…where Lucas could be?"

"Yeah he's right next to me." Nathan said. Lucas looked up in question.

"It's Brooke." He mouthed.

"What does she want?" Lucas mouthed back.

"Would you like to talk to him?" Nathan asked.

"Thanks." Brooke said.

"Here." Nathan held out his phone.

"Hey." Lucas said uncertainly.

"Hi…um, so what are you and Nathan doing?" Brooke asked.

"Eating breakfast. We're at the beach house."

"Cool."

"Yeah…I'm living with my dad for awhile."

"That's nice…"

"Is there a reason you called, Brooke?"

"I wanted to talk…and you didn't answer your house or cell phone."

"Oh…its probably upstairs."

"Can we talk soon?"

"I guess."

"I'll come up there. We can talk on the beach."

"Alright."

"See you in an hour?"

"Sounds good."

"Bye." Brooke said and hung up.

"That sounded…" Nathan trailed off.

"Awkward?" Lucas finished for him.

"Is she coming up here?"

"Yeah in an hour."

"Maybe she's ready now."

"Maybe." Lucas said and went upstairs with Nathan following.

Lucas took the bottle of pills from his pocket and opened the medicine cabinet to put them away, but Nathan took the bottle out of his hands and inspected it.

"For HCM." Lucas said.

"I figured…"

"You okay?"

"It…just seems more real now."

"What does?"

"You having a heart condition."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you'll be okay for basketball?"

"Absolutely. Even better now with these." Lucas took the bottle and put it away.

"If you're sure."

"Trust me, I am. Dad seems confident about it too."

"You're calling him Dad." Nathan smiled.

"Yeah." Lucas smiled shyly as his cell phone began to ring on his bed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, my car broke down, so can you come here?"

"To my mom's house?"

"Yeah, she gave me a key."

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

"What's up?" Nathan asked.

"I'm going to my mom's house now."

"Oh. Good luck."

"Thanks." Lucas said, and bumped fists with Nathan.

"Hey Brooke, welcome back." Lucas said, standing in the doorway.

"Hi…" Brooke said shyly, stacking her last box on the floor.

"Wow." Lucas said, surveying the room.

"Yeah." Brooke laughed nervously.

"So, um you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah…why don't we sit?"

"Okay." He said, making his way to the bed and sitting down next to her.

"I'm really sorry for what I did before you left." Lucas said.

"Thanks. I just got so freaked out, and I didn't know what to say."

"Does this mean…"

"I don't know. I still don't know."

Lucas was silent for a minute.

"Okay, that's fine."

"Really? Like really fine or are you being sarcastic?"

"No…trust me I learned how important giving people space is."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I rather not get into it now."

"Alright. So, friends?"

"Friends." Lucas said, giving her a high five.

"So I should go." Lucas said.

"Okay."

"You gonna be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine. Practically my life story."

"We'll talk later?"

"Absolutely."

Lucas got back to the house and was greeted by Deb.

"Hey sweetie." Deb smiled.

"Hey…" He said, not used to being called sweetie by anyone but his mom. It didn't bother him though, because he slowly was starting to realize that this all could work too.

"Did you see Brooke?"

"Yep, just got back."

"How was her trip?"

"Fine. It's all good." Lucas said.

"I'm glad." Deb said, smiling.

"Oh good you're back." Nathan said as he entered the room.

"Yep. Missed me, eh?"

"Well I am still grounded so you're my only source of entertainment."

"Its nice to be loved like this." Lucas joked.

"You bet. Can we go outside?" Nathan asked Deb

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay."

Nathan and Lucas went outside and sat on the deck.

"So it was good…with Brooke?"

"It was alright. She still doesn't know how she feels."

"Oh. That sucks."

"I can wait."

"Good for you." Nathan said, looking at the water.

"It's so nice here." Lucas said.

"Yeah, I always like it here. That's why I had a bunch of parties here and even when Mom kicked Dad out and we moved here, it was fun."

"I can see why."

"Do you like living with us?"

"What?"

"Has it been good this summer?"

"For the most part."

"You mean…the whole drunken thing?"

"No, no, I just kind of felt out of place at first. It was kind of a strange idea to live with someone who I had such a different relationship with than I do with my mom."

"You mean Dad?"

"I am just getting used to the idea that I can be living happily other people besides my mom and Keith."

"Other people who love you unconditionally." Nathan nodded.

"Exactly." Lucas said in surprise.

"What? You seemed surprised."

"It's just that's exactly what I was feeling."

"Trust me, I know the feeling too. I'm still struggling with the idea that maybe.. my family isn't hanging by a thread anymore."

"Over the past few weeks, I've just kind of feeling like this could…it could all fit too. Maybe I don't have to choose sides over Mom and Dad. It could all work out."

"Exactly."

Dan was watching his sons talking on the deck, so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't noticed the breeze going by or the shouts of the people down on the beach.

They had become so close in such a short amount of time.

Deb came up behind Dan and watched them too.

Dan smiled at his wife. It took one decision to be a better person to make his whole life better. How come he had waited so long?

"This is good." Deb said, smiling.

"This is very good." Dan agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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"There's no way that we're starting school in two weeks." Nathan complained.

"But yet we are." Lucas said, tying his shoes.

"I guess we should start packing."

"Yeah…" Lucas said sadly.

"You okay?"

"It's weird without my mom being here for school."

"That sucks, man. I wish she were here. Well, kind of. I don't want you to leave either."

"When she gets back, I'm telling her that I want to live here too. Joint custody."

"Think she'll go for it?"

"Probably not."

"What would you do, if they made you choose?"

"I don't know. I mean, technically, Dad does have custody of me."

"He does?"

"Yeah, we had a whole mediation thing when I was living with Dad, and I said I wanted to live with him."

"Oh…wow."

"I want her to go with this. I really do."

"She will if you really want her too."

"I hope so."

"So…talked to Brooke lately?"

"Yeah, just the regular small talk phone calls. She said Peyton got back, so they're probably together."

"Girls." Nathan laughed.

"Yeah." Lucas laughed.

"I feel like we've let our friends slide." Nathan commented.

"I know what you mean. I mean I've barely talked to Hal-" Lucas stopped abruptly.

Nathan cleared his throat and looked down.

"Sorry." Lucas whispered.

"That brings up so many bad thoughts I can't even explain it to you."

"For me too."

"Like what?"

"Well, my best friend skipped town on me, my brother was a complete mess, he almost killed himself..."

"Good point."

"It's been bad, Nathan."

"Yeah…that's why I don't want to do it again. At least not for a long time."

"I understand."

"You do?"

"Of course. I…honestly would need a lot of time before I got over it. In fact, I feel like I need time to get over it anyway. I mean we're still friends, and I talk to her and stuff but still, it's always on my mind"

"Yeah…"

"I was so scared, Nathan, after you crashed your car, I didn't know what I would do…"

"That part of my life is over, for the first time in my life, I believe that I have people who are truly there for me."

"You better." Lucas sniffled and laughed.

"Softy." Nathan smirked.

"Bitch." Lucas smirked back.

"Boys are you packed up?" Deb asked poking her head in the door, seeing them sitting on the floor talking, clothes everywhere.

"Not exactly." Lucas laughed.

"Get a move on, your dad needs to get settled again before he goes back to work."

"Isn't his dealership, like, ruined?" Nathan asked.

"They've been working on the repairs for awhile now. Obviously it's not up to full working order, but there are still things to be done."

"Oh." Nathan said.

"Yeah, so get a move on we can drive back and then have dinner."

"Okay." They said.

* * *

Later that night, Nathan wandered into Lucas' room, where Lucas had just finished putting everything away. 

"Packing and unpacking seems to be your theme this summer." Nathan said.

"Not just for the summer, if my mom agrees to the joint custody thing."

"That's true. So how do you plan to get your mom to agree to it?"

"No idea. She didn't want to do it when I was born, and now she seems to hate Dad more and plus she and I aren't really that great right now."

"But it does matter what you want, doesn't it?"

"It should. I just hope it does. I think…I have Andy's number…should I call her?"

"Definitely."

"Okay…crap it's long distance." Lucas remembered.

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it. I'll be…somewhere else." Nathan said and left the room.

Lucas dialed and waited.

"Hello?" Karen answered.

"Oh…Mom…hey I was expecting Andy to answer the phone."

"He's in the shower…" Karen said.

"Oh…okay…so how are you?"

"I'm good."

"Good." Lucas said awkwardly.

"And how are you? Is everything okay with your new living arrangements?"

"Yes, it's really great." Lucas said excitedly.

"I see."

"I miss you though."

"I'm glad. I miss you too. I'm coming home next week, so I can be there for the beginning of your senior year."

"That's so great, because I wanted to discuss something with you. About me living here…"

"You want to live with your father full time still?" Karen said, upset.

"No, no. I want…you and Dad to have joint custody."

"What?"

"Mom, come on."

"Lucas I cant believe you'd be willing to forgive everything you've been through with them."

"It's not that I don't remember what's happened in the past, but things have changed mom, we're moving on."

"Lucas, I just don't think this is a good idea."

"Don't take this away from me, please."

"We can talk about it when I get back."

Lucas smiled, it was something at least.

"Okay. See you soon."

"Bye, love you."

"You too." He said and hung up.

* * *

Lucas found Deb, Dan and Nathan in the living room. Nathan looked away from the TV and looked at his brother.

"How did it go?"

"I think there's a chance."

"A chance for what?" Dan asked.

"I hope you don't mind, but I kind of asked my mom about maybe having a joint custody agreement?" Lucas said cautiously.

"You'd really want to do that?" Dan asked in surprise.

"I would. If you'd want to."

"I'd love that." Dan said, getting up and hugging his son.

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**Crikey that seems short. Oh well, I got almost 2 chapters ahead in this story while my internet was down :)**  



	14. Chapter 14

**Yeah, I know I said I had this all written and everything the last time I updated, but I think I've edited this like 8 times now. So hopefully it's good.  
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Lucas and Nathan spent the next few days at the River court, getting into gear for school.

"And…I win!" Nathan said, making a jump shot.

"Yeah, yeah." Lucas laughed, sitting on the picnic table and drinking some water.

Nathan's cell phone rang.

"Hello? Jake! How are you man?" Lucas looked up with interest.

"Good, good. Is Lucas okay?"

"Yeah, he's right here. We've been home all summer."

"That's good. I tried calling his cell, he didn't pick up. Got a little worried."

"Typical. Did everything work out with Nikki and Jenny?"

"Yep, we have a court hearing next week and I am almost certain that since she ran off, that the custody battle will finally end."

"That's great man. I bet Peyton was psyched to see you."

"It was great. She and Brooke are out shopping or something. Where are you two?"

"The River court. You should come down."

"Already here." Jake said, walking down the hill.

"Learn to answer your phone." Nathan chided before Jake appeared on the court.

"Hey man!" Lucas hopped off the table and hugged his friend.

"Good to see you."

Nathan and Jake slapped hands.

"So Jagielski, got any game left in you?" Nathan asked.

"Probably not. I've been so out of practice."

"You and me against Luke, lets see what's left in you."

"No fair." Lucas said.

"Oh well."

Jake threw Nathan the ball, and ran towards the basket, hoping to catch Nathan's rebound if necessary.

Lucas guarded Nathan the best he could, considering he was double-teamed.

"You guys suck." He complained 15 minutes later.

"Wearing you out, eh?" Jake teased.

"Just a little." Lucas laughed and dribbled down the court.

"Hey, now its Lucas and me against you, Jake." Nathan called out.

"Finally!" Lucas laughed.

"Crap." Jake complained.

Nathan dribbled and dunked the ball, and the brothers high-fived. Lucas and Nathan continued making shots, laughing while Jake complained about being double-teamed.

Nathan passed Lucas the ball, and Lucas shot a three pointer. He stumbled a little, and stopped. He was uncomfortably aware that his heart was pounding.

"Why'd you stop?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Lucas said, dribbling the ball towards to basket. His head was pounding and his vision was getting blurry.

"Luke, you alright?" Nathan said, and jogged toward him. He tried to ignore the sense of dread building up inside him. This scene was very familiar.

"My head is killing me…" Lucas said.

Nathan knew what was happening and sped up towards Lucas.

He managed to get close enough to break his brother's fall.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, Luke!" Nathan said, holding onto his brother. 

"Oh my God…" Jake said, running over. He knelt down besides Nathan who was still supporting Lucas as Lucas' head lolled to the side.

Jake took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

"Lay him flat." He instructed.

Nathan did as he was told, his hands shaking and his heart pounding.

Jake was shaky as well, as he checked Lucas' pulse.

"He's breathing, and his pulse is strong. What's wrong, what's wrong?" Jake wondered out loud in worry.

Nathan was so scared; he was doing everything he could to wake Lucas up.

"Lucas…come on Lucas don't do this to me…" Nathan whispered.

"We should call 911" Jake said.

"Please wake up." He said.

Lucas twitched a little bit, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh thank God…Luke are you okay?" Jake asked, helping Lucas sit up.

"I don't know." Lucas mumbled, taking a deep breath. Jake ran and got him the bottle of water that was sitting on the table nearby. Lucas took a drink, nodding gratefully at his friend.

Nathan moved so he was next to Lucas, and leaned him against his shoulder.

"So…what the hell happened just now?" Nathan asked.

"I felt so bad all of the sudden, I couldn't breathe, my head was pounding and I couldn't see. Next thing I remember is waking up on the ground." Lucas said, turning into Nathan's shoulder and feeling embarrassed.

He realized he must look like a child doing this, but he didn't care at the moment.

Jake sighed and looked at Nathan, who was thinking about something.

"You've been taking your medicine right?" Nathan asked suddenly.

"Of course I have." Lucas mumbled into Nathan's shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut. He just wanted to lay down now.

"Medicine for what?" Jake asked.

"HCM, it's a heart condition." Nathan said.

"I've read about that. It's pretty serious, Luke. When did you find out you had it?" Jake asked.

"A couple of months ago."

"Lucas, you really shouldn't be playing basketball."

"I have the medication now, it's supposed to be fine." Lucas said, looking at Jake.

"Lucas, you blacked out during a game with just friends." Jake said.

"Jake, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"If you're sure…" Jake said.

"I am. But I'll be careful." Lucas promised.

"Okay." Jake sighed.

Nathan let go of Lucas, and Jake helped Lucas walk to the car. Lucas leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He still felt terrible.

"Thanks Jake." Nathan said, turning the keys in the ignition.

"I'll stop by later." Jake promised.

* * *

They drove in silence for a while. 

"You scared us." Nathan said sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this but.."

"I'm not quitting."

"Look what it's doing to you though."

"I'll be careful." Lucas said, turning up the music.

Nathan was silent, periodically glancing at Lucas.

He pulled up into the driveway, and turned to Lucas.

"You promise to be okay?"

"I promise."

Lucas got out of the car, painfully aware of how unsteady he felt.

"You good?"

"Not really." Lucas said.

"You don't want me to tell Dad though…"

"I rather you didn't."

"Fine." Nathan said.

"Thank you." Lucas said, as he walked unsteadily towards the house.

Nathan followed closely behind him, and they both quickly greeted Deb and Dan before going upstairs. Lucas managed to keep it together in front of Deb and Dan, but Nathan tried helping him up the stairs. Lucas insisted he was fine.

Lucas fell down on his bed and sighed.

Nathan got him some aspirin and water.

"Thanks," He said, sitting up.

"Jake should be over soon." Nathan said, getting up.

Lucas sighed and went to sleep.

* * *

"Hey Nathan, where's Lucas?" Dan asked when Nathan got downstairs. 

"Upstairs, sleeping. He felt kind of um, sick today."

"Is he alright?" Dan asked.

"Just needs to sleep a little, I think. Nothing major." Nathan lied.

"Did he take any medicine?" Deb asked.

"I got him some aspirin."

"You're a good brother, Nathan." Dan said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I hope so…" Nathan said, mostly to himself.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Jake knocked on the door. Dan answered. 

"Hi Mr. Scott, can I talk to Lucas?" Jake said.

"Hey Jake, Nathan said Lucas wasn't feeling very well, so don't be too long."

"I wont. Thanks Mr. Scott."

"His room is right across from Nathan's."

"Alright." Jake said and headed upstairs, ignoring the fact that Mr.Scott was acting normal for once.

Nathan saw Jake from his doorway.

"Hey. I think he might be asleep." Nathan said, quietly opening the door.

"Looks like it." Jake commented. He leaned against the doorway.

"I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I agree to cover this up for him." Nathan said, looking into the room.

"Look, Nathan, I don't think Lucas would be stupid enough to put himself in danger like that if it was just a one time thing."

"But it's almost happened before. He got winded and I bet if we hadn't stopped, I would've had to practically carry him up the stairs then too."

"Just keep an eye on him." Jake said reassuringly.

"I will." Nathan smiled.

"I should head out. Peyton and I have a date and I'm officially late."

"Have fun. Thanks man, you're a good friend to Luke. And me too."

"Anytime." Jake said, and left.

"Did Jake stop by?" Lucas said, as Nathan walked into his room later that night.

"Yeah, you were out of it so we just let you sleep."

"Thanks. It helped."

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better."

"Good."

"You don't believe me." Lucas observed.

"I just don't want that to happen again."

"It won't." Lucas insisted.

"Stuff like this has happened before."

"You're right, but as long as I pace myself and take the medicine I'll be fine, I know it."

"Lucas, you just don't seem to understand how much this scares me. Anytime while we're in a game or hell, just having fun you might just completely shut down…and I don't know if I could handle it."

Lucas didn't say anything, but lay down and looked up at the ceiling.

"Its not fair." Nathan said.

"I'll do my best to live with it. Just please, please lets keep it between us and Jake?"

"You haven't told anyone besides Dad, me and Jake?"

"Not really. Well, I'm sure Deb knows by now."

"She might not. Dad might think she'd tell your mom."

"Good point."

"How could you not tell your mom?"

"You know how she would react."

"Still."

"I'll be fine, I'm going to be fine, basketball will be fine."

"You say that, but you never know."

"Nathan, please don't try to take it away from me. I promise you that if I feel that I can't do it anymore, I will go to Whitey and quit right then and there."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I just don't want to watch life pass me by."

"Okay." Nathan said hesistatantly. He sighed. He couldn't make this bad feeling go away and he couldn't seem to make anybody else see it either.

**

* * *

**

**Aww...Boys worry too. :) **

**Thanks for the lovely reviews from the last chapter. You are wonderful! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Many, many apologies for the delay. I officially want to break my computer for not allowing me to upload anything to this site for like a WEEK. **

* * *

Lucas pulled up in his mom's driveway. She left him a message early that morning that she was on her way to the house. 

He walked inside, closing the door quietly so he wouldn't wake up Brooke, but it turned out not to be necessary.

"Hey Lucas." Brooke said, walking into the room.

"Hey…I thought you'd be asleep."

"No, your mom got home so we talked for a little bit and now she's just finishing unpacking."

"Is Andy with her?"

"No. He's coming back soon though."

"Lucas, you're here." Karen said happily.

"Hi Mom…" Lucas smiled.

Karen hugged her son tightly.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, let me see your ring."

Karen held out her hand.

"That's so pretty Karen." Brooke said.

"Thank you Brooke."

"It's really nice." Lucas said.

"Okay, so I'm meeting Peyton, so I'll let you talk." Brooke said, and left.

"Look at you all muscular." Karen said.

"Nathan and I really got into basketball and stuff this summer. We've been training for awhile now."

"Good for you."

"Yeah it is."

"So I see you didn't bring any of your stuff back here."

"No…"

"You're serious about this joint custody thing?"

"Mom, I don't love you any less, but I want to be able to know my father and my brother too. And my step mom." Lucas added.

"This means I'll be seeing less of you."

"I'll still be at the café and stuff the weeks I'm not here."

"That's true…are you _sure _you want this?" Karen said, starting to give in.

"Positive." Lucas said, seeing her giving in and smiling.

"Alright, your father and I can discuss and arrangement."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lucas said, hugging his mom.

"You seem excited."

"I'm just happy to be able to spend time with my entire family without it being considered favoritism."

"That's good."

"I love you Mom."

"I love you too. So I guess I'll call your father in a little while."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Lucas drove back to Dan's house, definitely excited.

* * *

Dan was in his office working on how to get the dealership up and running again. Deb was at the café and Nathan was at Tim's house. 

"My mom is going to call you tonight so you can set up a meeting about the custody arrangement." Lucas said, sitting down.

"You're kidding." Dan said in astonishment.

"No lie."

"How in the world did you get your Mom to agree to it?"

"I told her how much I wanted it."

"You know…son, I never imagined you'd be sitting here genuinely happy to be here with me. I can't believe there's so much time that I wasn't there for you."

"There's time now." Lucas said, looking down.

"I'm not going to screw it up this time." Dan said, standing up.

"Me either."

"You did nothing wrong."

"I went behind your back and behind Nathan's back and I-"

"No. Lucas, I don't want you to think that way. We're just going to be a family now. It will take some work, but I think you and Nathan have got the right idea. You seem really close now."

"We are." Lucas smiled.

"I don't know how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Just let it go, all the stuff Nathan and I have done to you."

"At some point you just have to. I for one don't want to live in the past anymore."

"Me either."

"Good."

"Good." Dan smiled and patted Lucas' shoulder. Lucas smiled back.

* * *

Lucas was in the middle of a book when Nathan burst into his room. 

"Dude, when my brother is going to be living here every other week in a joint custody agreement I would except him to FIND ME AND TELL ME!" Nathan said, whacking him with a pillow.

"I didn't know where you went." Lucas grinned.

"Bull. You're just lazy." Nathan said.

"Probably. But my mom seemed pretty easy to agree with me when I told her how much I wanted it."

"That's great, so you and your mom are good?"

"Yeah."

"When you went over there was Brooke there?"

"Yeah…"

"And…"

"And nothing, I had other things on my mind."

"Come on, you say anything to her?"

"Um, I said hi."

"Come on, I'm dying here."

"Nate, Brooke and I will choose to further our relationship…not now."

"Nice answer. I'm rubbing off on you."

"Probably. I've definitely become more lazy."

"Shut up." Nathan laughed and whacked Lucas with the pillow some more.

"Ouch, ouch you idiot" Lucas laughed.

* * *

Three days later, it was 5:30 in the morning and the first day of school. 

"Lucas." Nathan whispered in Lucas' ear.

"Lucas Lucas Lucas." He said, bouncing the bed.

"What?" Lucas grumbled.

"We're starting school today. And Haley is going to be there. And it will be really weird and awkward and-"

Lucas turned away from his rambling brother and noticed the time.

"It is 5:30 in the damn morning." He said, getting up.

"I know, I'm sorry but just promise me that you've got my back."

"Of course." Lucas said, running his hand through his hair.

He hadn't done much with it during the summer and now it was a little longer than it was before he shaved it, and blonde from spending so much time at the beach.

"I'm not saying that you ignore her or anything but…"

"I got it." Lucas yawned.

"We could've had this talk on our way to school right?" Nathan said, feeling bad.

"Probably."

"Sorry."

"It's alright." Lucas said, throwing a t-shirt and jeans on his bed.

"You're getting up now?"

"Yep."

"You want me to leave now?"

"Yes and for the rest of the year don't wake me up before 7."

"Deal." Nathan said, going back to his own room.

* * *

"So are you excited about senior year?" Deb asked Lucas. 

"Kind of, but there's a ton of pressure. College and stuff." He said, drinking some coffee.

"That's true. Where do you think you might go?"

"Somewhere around here."

"Good basketball schools around here." Deb said knowingly.

"There is that."

"You and Nathan have been working hard this summer to get into shape." Deb commented.

"Yeah, especially Nathan because he went to High Flyers to work out his injuries and everything."

"You've both worked hard."

"Nathan wouldn't let me be lazy about it. He had me doing weights everyday. Even Whitey gave up after a while."

"Well now you're stronger right? And all the girls will _love _your new physique." Deb teased.

Lucas cracked up as Nathan came into the kitchen.

"What's up?"

"Lucas and I were just talking about how hard you two have worked this simmer." Deb said.

"Damn straight. Finally got Skinny over here to bulk up." Nathan said, eating Pop Tarts.

"Shut up." Lucas laughed.

"Ooh, boys you better go." Deb said looking at the clock.

"Bye Mom." Nathan said.

"Bye Deb." Lucas called.

"Bye! Have fun!"

"Yeah right." Nathan sighed.

Lucas parked the car in the school parking lot and he and Nathan met up with Jake and Peyton outside.

"Just one more year." Jake grinned.

"Amen to that." Nathan said.

The bell rang so they headed to homeroom. Homeroom was alphabetical order this year, so Jake went off down the hall while Peyton, Lucas, and Nathan went into their homeroom.

The day dragged by with lots of boring syllabuses and information forms to be filled out.

"I hate the first day of school." Nathan complained at lunch.

"It's so boring with all the information cards we have to fill out."

"I already have homework."

"Really?"

"Yeah for math."

"Sucks." Lucas said sympathetically. He knew that Nathan had a hard time in school a lot, and now he didn't really have a tutor.

* * *

Brooke walked into the cafeteria and headed towards where Peyton was sitting. She smiled and waved at her friend, who sitting next to Jake. 

She got to the table and noticed Lucas and Nathan walking her way. Nathan was tan from the summer and still muscular, but Lucas looked _hot. _He definitely had been working out and he had his hair all long and tousled, the way she loved it. She hadn't taken the time to notice it before, but it was definitely there.

"Hey Lucas." She smiled.

"Hey Brooke, haven't talked to you in a couple days." Lucas smiled.

"Lucas, have I told you how good you've been looking lately?" Brooke blurted out.

The others at the table kind of laughed in surprise.

Brooke blushed.

"Um, thanks Brooke." Lucas laughed.

"Sorry that was so weird of me." Brooke laughed.

"No problem."

"Your mom misses you." Brooke said.

"I know. But I think the agreement is every other week I go to her house, so I'll be seeing you in a week." Lucas said, grinning.

"Aww I'm going to miss you." Nathan said, pretending to be sad.

"Aww!" The girls laughed.

The bell rang and the rest of the day dragged on.

"Finally!" Nathan said, jumping out of the car when they got back to Dan's house.

"It wasn't that bad."

"Speak for yourself."

"Alrighty then."

* * *

A few hours later, Nathan was tapping his pencil on his desk, staring at his math homework. It was a bit of review from last year. Unfortunately, last year his tutor went on a music tour and his grades began to suffer. 

He could hear Lucas' music playing across the hall and decided to see if he could help.

"So how many of the English books have you already read?" Nathan asked as he walked in.

"Two." Lucas responded, turning off the music.

"Cool. So…um, you know how to do this right?" Nathan said, showing Lucas his math homework.

"Yeah, see what you do with these kind of problems…" Lucas said and explained it to him.

A few minutes later, it made sense to him. He was amazed.

"Right…right. I get it now. Thanks Luke."

"No problem." Lucas said.

"You would be a good tutor."

"Thanks, but I'll just leave that to other people…"

"It's okay to say her name, I'm dealing with it now."

"Okay."

"It's easier not seeing her."

"You didn't see her today?"

"I did. And it was weird."

"I bet."

"I completely avoided her."

"I understand."

"How about Brooke today? She is so into you man. I mean that comment she just blurted out? Too funny." Nathan said, laughing.

"That was pretty funny."

"You think she's ready?"

"I hope so."

"Go get her man." Nathan said, getting up.

"I'm taking it slow. I want to be sure this time. Mote importantly, I want her to be sure about this before we get into anything."

"Don't wait too long." Nathan advised, tossing Lucas a small basketball.

Lucas shot it through the mini hoop on his door. It bounced up and Nathan caught it, tossing it playfully between his hands.

"We'll see how it goes." Lucas said.

* * *

**Thanks so much for all the reviews. I just hope some of you haven't lost interest in the story. **


	16. Chapter 16

Lucas pulled his duffel bag out of the backseat and slammed the car doors.

Karen ran out and hugged him tightly.

"My baby's back."

"Hi mom."

"You packed lightly." Karen commented.

"I wasn't sure how much stuff to bring."

Karen laughed.

"I'm starving."

"Dinner is almost ready, Brooke's inside."

"Sounds good."

* * *

"I bet you and Lucas were happy to see each other." Deb said the next morning at the café. 

"I missed him a lot."

"Well I know he missed you too."

"Thank you for watching him this summer."

"We had fun. The boys got so close. It was nice to see."

"I bet."

"Oh! I almost forgot. I have been fiddling around with my digital camera all summer and I printed some pictures I took of Lucas."

Deb pulled out an envelope and handed it to Karen.

Karen looked through the pictures. There was a picture of Nathan carrying Lucas into the freezing cold water, both laughing. Nathan and Lucas playing basketball, with Lucas doing a slam-dunk. A group shot of Lucas, Nathan, Dan and Deb. Lucas and Nathan shaking water out of their hair at the beach. Lucas and Jake roasting marshmallows on the beach, with Jake's on fire and Lucas laughing. Lucas shoving Nathan out of his bedroom after Nathan fell asleep in his bed.

Karen smiled at the last picture, Lucas looked mildly annoyed and Nathan couldn't stop laughing. They looked like they've been close for a long time.

She had missed so much.

"I can't believe I wasn't here." Karen murmured.

"Well you had a wonderful summer." Deb said, holding out Karen's hand and smiling.

Karen laughed.

"Keep those pictures, I have copies." Deb said gently, and went into the back room.

Karen smiled faded. She sighed and went back to work.

* * *

"Ready for practice?" Jake said; falling step with Lucas a few minutes after the final bell rang. 

"Yeah."

"And you-"

"I promise that I will be careful."

"Okay. Where's Nathan?"

"His last class is close to the gym. He's probably already there."

Sure enough he was.

"Hey." Nathan said, pulling on his jersey.

"Sup." Jake said, opening his locker.

Lucas nodded at Nathan and made his way to his locker when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Nathan was looking at him with concern.

"You promise me…"

"I do. The next time either of you asks me that I am going to go postal on you, I swear."

"Alright, alright." Jake said.

The team made their way out onto the gym where the underclassmen were doing tryouts for the JV team.

"All right, another year." Whitey said, blowing his whistle.

"Good team this year. See some of you have been working over the summer. Looks like you finally got your scrawny ass doing some weights, Lucas. Who got you to do that?"

"Why do you assume that I didn't do it myself."

"Because I know you, boy."

"Yeah, you're right. Nathan made me." Lucas said, laughing.

"'Bout time Nathan." Whitey said.

Practice started, with the varsity doing drills on one half of the court, as to not disturb the tryouts.

Lucas, Nathan and Jake were happy to be back playing their favorite sport. During pauses in the practice, Nathan or Jake would be watching Lucas to make sure he was okay, which he was.

Whitey blew the whistle to end practice.

"Good job today, let's hope you all keep it up for the games." He said, and the team headed towards the locker room.

"Scott. Hold up." Whitey called to Nathan.

"What's up?"

"I heard about your father. How's he doing?"

"A lot better. He changed a lot though, so in a way it turned out to be good."

"How so?"

"He's so much better now, as a person. He and my mom are getting along and Lucas and him are finally on good terms."

"Are you and Lucas alright?"

"Better than ever. We got a lot closer this summer. He even lives with us every other week."

"Karen agreed to that?"

"It took some persuasion but Lucas really wants it."

"That's great." Whitey said thoughtfully.

"It is."

"Alright then. Go do something useful, like your homework."

"Bye Coach." Nathan said, and went to the locker room to get changed.

* * *

"You good?" Nathan asked Lucas who was still in the locker room. 

"I feel fine. I told you, all I need to do is take it easy."

"Okay."

"So I'll see you later?" Lucas asked.

"Yup."

"See ya." Lucas said. He chugged the rest of his water bottle and left.

* * *

Nathan returned home, his talk with Whitey still running through his mind. 

"Hey son, how was practice?" Dan asked, organizing files.

"Fine."

"Was Lucas…"

"He was okay. The medicine should help those symptoms…right?"

"Right." Dan said.

"Hey." Deb said, walking into the house. Dan gave Nathan a quick glance. He hoped Nathan wouldn't mention Lucas' heart condition. Dan was trying to figure out a way to tell her.

"Hi mom." Nathan said, nodding at his dad.

"How was school and practice?"

"Fine. Tiring."

"I brought takeout for dinner…Karen made some great stuff."

"I bet she's glad to see Lucas more." Dan said.

"Yeah, after a whole summer apart I think she was very excited."

"He was excited to see her too." Nathan said.

"Do you miss having him around?" Deb asked.

"It kind of sucks, I got so used to him being a few feet away across the hall all the time."

Deb smiled sympathetically.

"Besides, he helps me with my homework." Nathan added, grinning.

"Right…" Deb said, thinking about Haley.

"Look, I already told Lucas this, you can mention her name." Nathan said.

"It's not the most comfortable topic in the world for you son." Dan pointed out.

"Of course not, but just because I've decided that for now I don't really want anything to do with her, it doesn't mean I will lose it if I hear her name."

"Okay." Dan said. Deb nodded.

* * *

After dinner that night, Lucas and Brooke were sitting at the kitchen table, working on homework. 

Well, Lucas was doing homework. Brooke was admiring him. The way he looked so into what he was reading about, and the way his hair was so adorably styled, how blue his eyes were and how…how much she liked him.

"Lucas?" Brooke said uncertainly.

"Yes Brooke?"

Brooke didn't know what to say next…

"This is nice."

"Doing homework?" Lucas asked teasingly.

"Sitting here with you."

Lucas smiled.

"I like hanging out with you Brooke."

"I like hanging out with you, too."

"We should do something this weekend. Not like a date, but we could go get coffee or something."

"That sounds good." Brooke said.

Lucas looked back down on his English homework, feeling very happy. It was a start.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Lucas let himself into Dan's house and walked upstairs. Nobody seemed to be home. He was supposed to have come in the afternoon. 

He changed for his date with Brooke and left a note on the table saying he would be back soon.

"Hey Broody." Brooke said, sitting in the coffee shop.

"Hey Cheery. Long time no see."

"Yeah, like 2 hours."

"Nobody was home when I got there."

"That's weird."

"Nathan was probably there, but since it's Saturday, you know sleep till noon and then basketball practice."

Brooke laughed.

"So do you have a ton of work this weekend too?"

"Tons. Especially since I decided to do my homework this year." Brooke grinned.

Lucas laughed. He loved Brooke's sense of humor.

"Well that's good." He said.

They talked and laughed for two hours, forgetting all tension between them.

"Damn, I better get going. I have practice in an hour."

"Yeah, I better go too and help your mom."

"Yeah…"

"She's going to miss you a lot this week."

"I will definitely see her during the weeks I'm not there though."

"Of course."

"I'll be seeing you, Brooke."

"Bye Lucas."

* * *

"Hey man, where've you been?" Nathan greeted Lucas. 

Lucas points to the note on the table.

"Out with Brooke, eh?" Nathan said knowingly.

"Yeah. It was great."

"So are you dating now?"

"No. Patience, Nathan. One step at a time."

"It's a start."

"Exactly." Lucas said, thinking about how much fun he had had just talking to her.

"You're so into her." Nathan observed, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Do you think it's that easy?"

"To do what?"

"Just to talk to someone like that after all this stuff happens between you."

"I think it would need to more gradual in your case." Lucas said.

"My case?"

"Come on, Nate."

"Fine. You're right. I kind of miss her. Does that make me crazy?"

"Not at all."

"It's insane because every time I want to talk to her, I get all excited but then I remember all that's happened."

"Give it more time. It doesn't have to have some instant solution."

"Right." Nathan said thoughtfully.

**

* * *

I'm trying to update faster now that my computer decided to WORK ) **

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, tell me what you think! **

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for the kind reviews. Hopefully my computer will stop being so _evil _and let me update more frequently. It's kind of funny though, I wrote the next two chapters after writing like a page of this one. **

* * *

Nathan tapped his pencil on the desk as he waited for Lucas to finish checking his answers in the back of the book. 

"Pretty good. Only two wrong." Lucas said, handing him the paper.

"Seriously?"

"You're getting a lot better."

"Thanks so much man, you have no idea how much this helps me out."

"No problem." Lucas said, and showed Nathan how to fix the remaining problems.

* * *

"You're home late." Karen commented. 

"I'm sorry, didn't you get the voicemail I left you? I was tutoring Nathan." Lucas said.

"Yes, I just didn't expect you to take so long."

"I kind of lost track of time. Dad, Nathan and I were talking about the basketball season. The first game is this week."

"Right." Karen said shortly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Karen said gently.

"Okay." Lucas said, and went to his room.

"Hey Broody." Brooke greeted him.

"Hi…Cheery. Why are you in my room?"

"Waiting for you."

"What for?"

"Just wanted to talk." Brooke said slyly.

"About…"

"Homecoming. I need more people on the committee."

"Oh, um sure, Brooke. I'll help."

"Thank you!" Brooke exclaimed, hugging Lucas.

"No problem." He said, as they broke apart.

"Maybe Nathan can help too."

"Good luck with that." Lucas said.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. He decided to take the plunge.

"Say…would you want to go see a movie this weekend?"

"I would love that." Brooke said.

* * *

Friday after practice, Lucas and Nathan got into Lucas' car to go back to Dan's house. Lucas let Nathan drive. 

"Any plans this weekend?" Nathan said.

"I've got a date with Brooke." Lucas said, grinning.

"No way! That's so great." Nathan said.

"We're going to dinner and a movie."

"Traditional."

"Exactly. It will be fun."

"Yeah. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

"So…I saw Haley today."

"And?"

"And…I said hi, she said hi and I told her about you helping me out with schoolwork and she said that you were a pretty good tutor yourself."

"Thanks Haley." Lucas said.

"It's true man. I think that my grades won't completely suck this year."

"Good, we need you for basketball."

"It wasn't so bad, just a quick conversation."

"Step by step."

"So…how has basketball been for you?"

"I'm glad to be back playing full time."

"And you're feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot better. I think it was just a fluke or something this summer."

"I hope so. Just be-"

"Careful. Yes I know." Lucas said, getting out the car.

Nathan shut the door and tossed Lucas the keys.

"Just looking out for you man." Nathan said.

"Thanks." Lucas replied, taking his bag from the car.

They were playing in the driveway as soon as Lucas unpacked.

Nathan went for a slam-dunk with Lucas trying to block him. He made it, but landed the wrong way on top of Lucas.

"Ouch." Lucas grumbled. His elbow was pretty scraped up and bleeding.

"Shit." Nathan said.

"You okay?" Lucas moved next to Nathan, who was looking at his ankle.

"No…I think twisted it or sprained it. Shit."

"Okay, okay, let's see…yeah it looks like its swelling up. Lets go." Lucas helped Nathan up and helped Nathan hop into the house and on the couch.

Lucas brought him some aspirin and an ice pack.

"Thanks." Nathan said sullenly.

"Look, if you're careful it will be better in a week or two."

"The first game is this upcoming week though."

"That sucks."

"Damn straight. But maybe it'll be better in time for that?"

"Yeah, if you stay off it."

Nathan tilted his head back and sighed.

Lucas sat down next to him and patted his knee before pulling out a bandage for his arm.

"Sheesh." Nathan commented.

"No big deal. That reminds me, do you have any tape? I need to cover up my arm for the game Friday."

"Rub it in why don't you?"

"Did I not just tell you that you could be playing in that game 30 seconds ago?"

"Still. And yes, I think we have tape."

"Good."

"I forgot about your tattoo."

"A memento of my first date with Brooke."

Nathan chuckled.

"I'm home!" Dan called out.

"In here." Lucas responded.

"I figured you two would be outside…" Dan trailed off at the sight of Nathan's leg propped up on the couch, his ankle swollen.

"What happened?" He asked, putting his hand on Nathan's shoulder and look down at him and Lucas.

"Little misguided landing doing a slam-dunk. Had to use Luke to break my fall." Nathan grinned.

"Glad to be of service." Lucas said sarcastically.

"That's unfortunate, your first game coming up in a week."

"It could be okay by then." Lucas pointed out.

"That's true. Just take it easy." Dan said and went to his study.

"I was expecting him to freak." Nathan said in surprise.

"Me too."

"He's really changed." Nathan said, still awed.

"Yeah" Lucas agreed.

"Dammit" Nathan grumbled, looking down at his ankle.

"Hang in there, little brother."

* * *

The next day, Lucas decided to add some of his stuff from Karen's house to his room at Dan's house.

Lucas smoothed out the poster he had put on his wall and looked back at Nathan, who was lying on his bed.

"I don't know these bands." Nathan sighed.

"Snow Patrol is what's playing on my computer."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Pick some different music."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Rule of Lucas' room: Lucas picks the music, and little brother laying all over his bed shuts his cakehole." Lucas said, smiling.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"So how's the ankle jackass?" Lucas said with a big smile.

"Fine, I think if I just stay off it I can still play in the game."

"That's good."

"If not though, I'm counting on you man."

"Don't worry. I've got your back."

"Thanks man."

"Okay, time for you to get the hell off my bed so I can get ready to go out with Brooke."

"Have fun." Nathan said.

Lucas quickly got ready and went out the door, wondering about whether or not Brooke was ready to become a couple again. They were definitely taking steps, and it seemed like Brooke may be ready.

* * *

**Hee. Just a bit of a transition chapter, I hope y'all like it. **

**Please leave me a review, I love feedback ) **


	18. Chapter 18

"Ready for the big game?" Dan asked at breakfast.

"As I'll ever be." Lucas replied, putting his bag down by the door.

"So you're going back to your mom's after the game?"

"Uh huh."

"Lucas!" Nathan said, hobbling over to his brother. He still wasn't up to playing basketball.

"Yes Nathan?" Lucas said as Nathan grabbed onto him for support.

"You ready for the game?"

"Yup."

"Remember, they're really hard and they have great defense."

"Yes, I think you've whispered that in my ear as I'm falling asleep every night since the season began." Lucas teased.

"Wouldn't put it past him." Dan said, sipping his coffee.

"Psycho." Lucas said to Nathan.

"How are you feeling?" Dan asked Lucas pointedly.

"I'm a little nervous." He admitted.

Nathan sat in silence, he hadn't really heard Lucas he was scared about his condition before.

"It's alright to feel nervous. Just be very careful and don't exert yourself." Dan said reassuringly.

"Thanks." Lucas said, and motioned to Nathan that they should get going.

"I'll see you at six!" Dan called.

"Bye!" They responded.

* * *

"I can't believe my stupid ankle is still keeping me out of the game." Nathan complained. 

"You'll be back for the next game."

"Hopefully. I'm counting on you for this game, Luke."

"Nate, you should count on me for every game." Lucas pointed out.

"True, but this is the first game so it's important."

Lucas sighed.

"Sorry. I know stress is the last thing you need." Nathan said, feeling bad.

"It's okay."

"Broody!" Brooke chirped when she saw Lucas in the hallway.

"What's up?"

"I need you help with homecoming, remember?"

"Right, right."

"Later." Nathan said, hobbling off.

"Don't you want to help?" Brooke called after him.

"Oh I wish I could, but as you can see I'm injured. Plus there's the fact that I don't want to." Nathan said, smiling.

"Excuses, excuses." Brooke teased.

"Such a lovely leader you are." Lucas said.

"So I need you to carry these decorations to the storeroom by the gym." She said, handing him a big box.

"Okay." He said, walking off. Brooke followed him.

"Shouldn't you be doing stuff too?"

"Yes, but I pawned it off on you." She said.

Lucas laughed.

"Good to know you're hard at work."

"I am! I've organized this whole thing, helped sell tickets, and now I'm just rounding up the hot boys to do the heavy lifting."

"My mistake."

"You betcha."

"So Brooke, do you…have a date yet?"

"No. I'm waiting for the right offer to come along." She said, looking at Lucas

"Well…I'm offering." Lucas said quickly.

"I'm accepting." She smiled.

Lucas smiled widely.

"Now I can go shopping!" Brooke said happily.

He laughed and rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Guess who I'm going to homecoming with?" Lucas said to Nathan at lunch. 

"Dude you asked her? Freaking awesome!"

"I know."

"Hey guys." Jake greeted them. He was with Peyton.

"Sup boys." Peyton said.

"I just asked Brooke to homecoming."

"That's so great!" Peyton said.

"Thanks." Lucas said. He noticed Haley heading down the hall.

"I'll be right back" He said quickly.

"Okay…" Peyton said slowly.

"That was weird." Jake said.

* * *

"So this is where you've been the past few weeks." Lucas said, sitting down at the table in the library. 

"I feel like I don't belong here anymore." Haley said sadly.

"Haley, of course you belong. You're my best friend."

"Thanks. But I know how it must feel like choosing between me and Nathan."

"He doesn't hate you, you know. He told me."

"That's good…" She said quietly.

"I think you two can be friends again if you give it enough time."

"I hope so."

"So I guess you aren't going to Homecoming then?"

"Nope. At least that hasn't changed."

"I'm going with Brooke." Lucas said softly.

"That's so great! Are you two…"

"No. But we've gone out a couple of times and spent some time together."

"I'm really happy for you Luke."

"Thanks Hales."

"I miss you. Can we hang out sometime?"

"Of course. I'll be at my mom's this weekend. Bring a DVD."

"Sounds good."

* * *

That night the gym was filled with tons of people, cheering on their team. 

Lucas walked onto the court, nodded to Nathan, who was on the bench and smiled at Haley, who he was surprised to see sitting with Karen.

"Alright boys, it's the first game of the season. Remember the plays we've been doing."

"Ravens on three!" Tim said.

"One two three…Ravens!" The team shouted.

Lucas had possession of the ball. He dribbled around another player and made a basket. The crowd cheered.

The team worked together and racked up the points on the scoreboard. The score was 21-7 when Whitey called a time out.

"Scott you look a little winded." Whitey commented. Nathan looked up in concern from where he was sitting on the bench.

"I'm fine." Lucas said. He was just ready to finish playing the game.

"You sure?" Whitey asked.

"Yeah."

Nathan came up and pulled Lucas back a little bit.

"Are you lying." Nathan hissed in Lucas' ear.

"I said I was _fine._" Lucas hissed back. He pulled away from Nathan and listened to Whitey's instructions and went back into the game.

Nathan sat down on the bench and sighed. That familiar feeling of dread was coming back. He chalked it up to nerves, sighed, and watched the game.

Lucas was fine, but obviously being on the floor for so long was getting to him.

He got the ball, and dribbled towards the basket. He was so tired, but he just had 6 more minutes to go. He could do it.

The ball went through the basket. Another three pointer. The crowd cheered.

Five minutes.

Jake got the ball and passed to Tim, who passed it on to Lucas.

Four minutes and twenty seconds left.

Lucas passed back to Jake, who surprisingly took a shot and made another 2 points. Jake high-fived Lucas, who jumped for the ball.

The other team managed to make a three pointer.

One minute left. Lucas felt relief flood throughout his body. He was completely spent.

He managed to keep it together, and kept giving up the ball to his teammates.

It didn't go unnoticed by Nathan. He watched intently, while an internal battle was going on about whether or not he should tell Whitey to pull Lucas out of the game.

Finally the buzzer sounded. The Ravens won. Jake ran over to Lucas.

"You were freaking awesome!"

"Thanks." Lucas said breathlessly.

"Luke…you alright?" Jake said in panic.

"Not used to being on the floor for so long I guess." Lucas said quickly.

Jake was about to protest, but Whitey summoned the team over to the bench. He could see Nathan was nervous too.

"Good games, fellas." Whitey said, dismissing the team to the locker room.

Lucas swallowed hard, and headed towards the locker room.

Nathan stopped him.

"You seriously look like you're about to pass out." Nathan said, his eyes wide. He put both his hands on Lucas' shoulders and studied Lucas' face.

"I'm alright." Lucas said.

"Whitey!" Nathan yelled.

"I said, I'm fine." Lucas snapped and pulled away.

He sat down on the bench in the locker room and drank water, taking some deep breaths. He felt a lot better after a few minutes.

"What the hell is your problem?" Nathan yelled as he entered the room. Luckily it was empty.

"I said I was fine." Lucas said tightly.

"You didn't look fine a few minutes ago."

"Nathan, lay off. I was just a little off from not doing consistent practicing and I have never been on the floor that long before."

"Don't lie to me! Whitey would've let you sit out."

"I had to keep going!"

"Stop lying to me. You know that you could've sat out the rest of the game and we still would've won."

"Nathan come on, I'm okay. Really."

"You're not." Nathan protested.

"I am." Lucas insisted weakly.

"Forget it. If you're not going to honest with me, then just forget it. I'll be around when you decide to tell me how you're really feeling."

"Nathan!"

"Have fun with Brooke this weekend." Nathan said, and left.

Lucas sat there, stunned.

* * *

Nathan walked to where his parents were. 

"Lets go." He said tightly.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Deb asked.

"Fine." Nathan sighed.

"Where's Lucas?" Dan asked.

"Getting his stuff together so he can go home with his mom."

"Oh, I wanted to talk to him." Dan said.

"He might be at the house tomorrow to drop off some things for his room."

"I was wondering when he was going to do stuff with his room." Deb said.

"I guess he's finally feeling at home." Dan said happily.

Nathan couldn't help but feel a little better at that. He knew how much Lucas meant to Dan. All he wanted to do was help his brother to be safe, to show how much he meant to Nathan.

* * *

**Stuff's about to happen y'all...drama coming up in the next few chapters! **

**Ahhh season premiere on Wednesday! So excited. **

**Thanks for reading/reviewing! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello all. I hope you all watched the season premiere, because personally I loved it. This is a little short, but I have a lot of stuff going on in school, but this weekend should be nice and relaxing. Yay!**

**Oh and guess what, my computer's hard drive completely shut down today. Thank goodness for floppy disks and other computer access. Yikes!**

* * *

Nathan walked up to his room, not feeling in the mood to party with the team at Tim's house. 

"Nathan, did something happen tonight?" Deb asked.

"Why?"

"You seemed tense during the game and then it looked like you and Lucas were fighting."

"We kind of were."

"What happened?"

"It's…hard to explain…I don't really want to talk about it. Just a disagreement."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Yeah." Nathan said, closing the door. Then he paced around his room, wondering how he could get through to Lucas.

He knew he was going to need help on this one.

"Sorry Lucas." He whispered to no one.

* * *

"Dad?" He knocked softly on the door. 

"Nathan, it's past midnight." Deb mumbled sleepily.

"I'm really sorry…I just need to talk to Dad about something."

"Okay." Dan said, and got up.

They got downstairs and sat in the kitchen.

"Lucas and I have been keeping something from you, and now I'm worried that it's a bigger deal than we made it out to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember when I told you Lucas was sick a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah..."

"He, Jake and I were playing basketball, and he blacked out."

"What!"

"I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you. He seemed okay, he just felt really tired and really embarrassed."

"Nathan, how could you keep this from me?"

"I'm sorry. He didn't want to tell anyone."

"We have to take him to a doctor."

"Why?"

"Why? Nathan, your brother loses consciousness while playing a simple informal game of basketball and you don't think that's a cause for alarm?"

Nathan sighed and nodded.

"I guess so."

"He doesn't know that you told me, does he?" Dan said after a moment/

"No…" Nathan said guiltily.

"It's good that you told me. Better late than never."

"He's going to be furious with me."

"He'll get over it."

"I'm just worried about it. I know he is a lot more scared then he is letting on, and I don't know why he feels like he has to hide it."

"I can understand it, he wants to be strong, and he doesn't want to feel like he has to slow down his life because of this."

"Is that how you feel?"

"In a way."

"That's good to know. That Lucas isn't alone with this."

"Of course he isn't alone. Listen, I think tomorrow you should tell him about what we discussed and we can arrange a visit to the doctor."

"Yeah, he'd probably be mad if I didn't tell him myself that I told you."

"You did the right thing."

"Thank you."

* * *

Nathan walked outside the next morning to find Lucas sitting against the basketball hoop in the driveway. He was almost in a trance, staring at nothing.

"Lucas…"

"I can't do it, can I?" Lucas said so quietly, Nathan wasn't sure he heard right.

"What?" Nathan said, sitting down next to him and trying to find what he was looking at.

"Basketball. It's all over for me isn't it?"

"I don't know" Nathan said sadly.

"It is. I know it is because I can tell that the next game I play at school, it's going to be bad, because I'm getting worse Nathan." Lucas said.

"You're over exerting yourself. I was a complete idiot for double-teaming you that day. I'm so sorry, Lucas."

"It's not your fault. I should have quit the minute I found out. That's what you told me, that HCM meant that basketball was all over."

"I didn't want it to be over for you."

"Me either."

"Tell me what I can do, I feel like I should do something to help you."

"I'm going to tell Whitey now. Go to his house."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Yes." Lucas nodded quietly.

Nathan felt terrible; his brother's dream had just been ripped from him.

"Thank you Nate." Lucas said.

Nathan stood up and stuck out his hand to help Lucas up.

* * *

"Well this is a surprise." Whitey said as he opened the door, grinning.

His smile faded when he saw the expression on Lucas and Nathan's faces.

"Something terrible happened because I've seen you both a lot happier and you're pretty moody kids."

"Whitey, I need to talk to you." Lucas said without smiling.

"Come on in."

Lucas and Nathan sat down on the couch across from Whitey.

Lucas swallowed several times, trying to form the words.

"Do you know about HCM?" He finally managed to say.

"Yes I do."

"Our Dad has it, and I inherited it from him…"

"Oh my God." Whitey said, realizing.

"I can't play anymore. It's too hard for me." Lucas managed to choke out.

Nathan reached over to Lucas, but Lucas pulled away and stood up.

"I'm sorry." He said, leaving the house quickly.

"I'm sorry Coach." Nathan said, and ran after Lucas.

Whitey was still in shock, and walked to the window, where he could see Lucas had stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk and Nathan was slowly approaching him.

"Luke!" Nathan called as he got closer.

"Sorry." Lucas mumbled, and kept walking.

"It's okay, it's all understandable."

"Understandable? This isn't understandable. It doesn't make sense at all." Lucas fumed.

Nathan really wished Lucas would stop walking so fast, he wanted him to calm down.

"I meant your reaction was understandable, because nothing else about this makes any sense."

Lucas continued walking in silence until he got to Dan's house. He walked straight inside and up to his bedroom, pulled out a cardboard box and began putting things inside it.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting rid of all my basketball stuff." Lucas said.

"Come on. You love this stuff."

Lucas sighed.

"I know."

"It will get better."

"How do you know?"

"I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you." Lucas said, smiling for the first time that day.

"Anytime."

"I better go home."

"Yeah I have to…"

"Go to practice." Lucas finished for him.

"I don't have to go." Nathan said quickly.

"Of course you do. Who else would I have to root for besides Jake?"

"Tim?" Nathan grinned.

"Like I said." Lucas said, laughing a little.

"Nice. So…you good?"

"Nope."

Nathan's smiled faded.

"I will be soon though." Lucas said.

They pounded fists and went their separate ways.

* * *

**Yeah, I made him quit :( **

**I have other plans for him :)**

**And Nathan too. **

**As always, thank you for the kind reviews. I love reading them and you inspire me to keep going with your comments and suggestions. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks for reviewing! I'm so excited that the new season is underway, but it's kind of funny how different the show actually is from this story. I mean Nathan and Lucas didn't even _talk _in the premiere. Anyways, here it is, another chapter. **

**Oh, and my guess for who wanted to kill Dan? Keith. And I think Lucas pulled Dan out of the dealership.**

* * *

"Okay class, we're dividing into pairs for the project. Don't get excited, I'm going alphabetically." Mr. Douglas the history teacher said, picking up a list of people. 

Nathan tapped his pencil against the desk, waiting for his name to be called.

"Shut up." Lucas whispered after a moment.

"What?"

"The pencil."

"Nervous habit. Get over yourself." Nathan smirked.

"Jerk." Lucas whispered, smiling.

"Bitch." Nathan smirked back.

"Lucas and Nathan Scott." Mr. Douglas called out.

"Sorry." Nathan said.

"For what?"

"What?" Nathan blinked.

"You and Lucas? The project."

"Oh. Cool." Nathan said.

"Right…" Mr. Douglas said, and continued pairing people up.

Lucas looked at Nathan and laughed.

A student knocked on the door and handed Mr. Douglas a note.

"Lucas, early dismissal."

"Oh…okay." Lucas said in surprise and packed up his stuff.

Nathan raised his eyebrows. Lucas shrugged.

* * *

When Lucas got to the office, Dan was sitting, waiting for him.

"Hey…" Lucas said in confusion.

"Hey son. I'm taking you to the doctor to make sure you're all alright after your blackout before school started."

Lucas looked down at his shoes, feeling guilty.

"Nathan told you?"

"Don't be mad at him, he got worried after the game."

"I'm not mad. I'm actually…relieved." Lucas said, following Dan to the car.

"Why didn't you want to tell me?" Dan asked after a few moments of silence.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"This is the kind of thing that parents are supposed to worry about."

"I know…"

"You still have trust issues with me don't you?"

"What?"

"Its okay. I still have problems trusting myself sometimes. I can feel myself starting to slip back to pushing people away, but I'm trying really hard."

"I know." Lucas said, looking out the window.

"I want you to know you can confide in me."

"Okay."

"Does your mom know yet?" Dan said, parking the car.

"Not yet. I can't seem to find a way to tell her."

"It's a difficult thing."

"I wish I had just been honest."

"Do you?"

"In a way. I mean she would've made me quit already, but she's going to lose it when she finds out that I hid this from her."

"As long as you're careful, you can play right? You've been feeling okay?"

"No. I quit." Lucas blurted out.

"It got too much for you"

"I was about to pass out at the game."

"Lucas…"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I told Whitey on Saturday."

"I need you to talk to me about these things, especially if your mom doesn't know about your condition. Nathan means well with his advice, but I need to know about it too."

"Okay."

"Good."

"I'll tell my mom soon. I promise."

"I think that's a good idea."

"Thanks."

"Lucas Scott?" The doctor called.

"Okay Lucas, I see you recently found out about your HCM. But…I see here you are a basketball player?"

"Not anymore." Lucas said.

"Unfortunately, I would've told you to stop playing today, especially considering your blackout a few weeks ago."

"I know."

"Okay, well I am going to suggest that you take it easy for awhile, and then gradually begin to do some light exercise. Walking or jogging is the best option. And continue with your medication."

"Alright."

"I'll see you in a couple of months to check up on you."

"Thanks." Dan said, shaking the doctor's hand.

* * *

Nathan walked up his driveway, feeling tired and drenched in sweat from a tough practice. He hadn't gotten around to fixing up his car, and really wished that he had it on days like these.

Once he got closer to his car, he saw a pair of legs sticking out from under it and a box of tools by the side of the car.

"Luke?" He said, looking under the car.

"Nathan?" Lucas said, sliding out.

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing your car." Lucas said, wiping sweat from his forehead. His face and clothes had spots of dirt and oil on them. He had a big smile on his face.

He jumped up and wiped his hand on his jeans, still smiling.

"You're awesome." Nathan said happily, hugging Lucas.

"You're sweaty." Lucas laughed after a moment.

"You're dirty as hell." Nathan smirked back, pulling away.

"You're both disgusting." Deb commented as she got of her car.

"But you love us right?" Nathan joked.

"God help me, but I do."

"Aww. Well I guess I better head to my mom's house and get cleaned up. I'll be back on Friday."

"Bye sweetie." Deb said.

"Yeah, bye sweetie." Nathan said, pretending to be cutesy.

"Shut up Nate." Lucas said as he got into his own car and pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

Lucas walked out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair.

"Ooh, Lucas why did you shower? You know how I like to get dirty." Brooke teased, walking into the bedroom and looking at the dirt covered clothes Lucas left on the floor.

"Is that how you want me to be for homecoming next week?"

"Not all over my new dress." Brooke said firmly.

"Noted. Can I see your dress?"

"Hell no."

"Why not?"

"It's a surprise."

"Okay."

"Good boy." Brooke smiled and left.

"Girls." Lucas muttered under his breath.

"What about them?" Karen said, coming into his room with a laundry basket.

"They're crazy." Lucas smiled.

"Oh boy, what did you get into?" Karen said, picking up Lucas' dirty clothes.

"Fixing Nathan's car."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, he really needs it to get around. And it doesn't run that well right now, so I figured I might as well help out."

"Good for you."

"Yeah…"

"Thinking about Keith?"

"Kind of. We didn't leave on the best terms, because of the whole Jules thing, and its kind of hard to imagine that he hasn't been around for a long time."

"I know what you mean. He's a good friend, and I liked having someone to talk to."

"You have Deb."

"Yes I do."

"It's been good getting to know her better. We didn't talk that much when I was staying with them last spring."

"Lucas I know I might not always act like it, but I am happy that you are getting along with Dan and everyone."

"Really?"

"I have to admit I feel a little jealous sometimes, you all seem really close now, but I realize that this makes you happy."

"Thanks mom."

"I can't believe all that's changed."

"Me either. Have you made any…plans yet?" Lucas said, pointing to Karen's engagement ring.

"Not yet. Andy should be coming back in a few weeks, and he'll be staying here too."

"So you don't want to live in New Zealand?"

"I don't know. I want to stay close to my boy." Karen said fondly.

"I'm glad. I would miss you a lot."

"Same here."

"So Andy staying here, huh? I guess that means the wedding would be pretty soon."

"Hopefully. I'm excited." Karen said.

"It'll be great. You deserve it."

"Thank you Lucas."

"I love you Mom."

"I love you too." Karen said, hugging him.

Lucas leaned into his mother's shoulder, trying to push his guilt aside for the time being.

Telling her could wait until tomorrow.

**

* * *

**

**Hmm this is kind of short. But of course I also did the weird thing that I do when I write ahead chapters. So I should be updating pretty soon. **

**I noticed this story has been kind of Lucas-centric, I just find the HCM storyline possibilities interesting, but I haven't forgotten about the other Scott boy and his drama with Haley. I have an idea for those two…**

**As always, I would love to get reviews and hear what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you all for reviewing! 100 on this story, and then some, yay! **

**This is a pretty exciting chapter. At least I think so. Please read and review! **

* * *

It was Friday, and Deb and Dan were packing for a little time away together, to help rekindle their marriage.

"Okay boys. We'll be back sometime Tuesday, probably after you've gone to school, so be good and don't throw a party or you'll both be grounded for a very long time." Deb said, kissing each boy on the head.

"Have fun." Lucas said.

"Are you sure you're okay with us going you two?"

"Of course." Nathan said.

"Yeah, we'll be good." Lucas grinned.

"Stay out of trouble." Dan warned, and they left.

"Alrighty, this should be fun." Nathan said, smiling.

"Why do I get a bad feeling?"

"No idea. Don't worry, there won't be any parties here." Nathan grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we'll just go to the beach house if necessary."

"Oh boy."

"So…did you tell your mom about basketball?"

"No…"

"No? Why not?"

"It was hard enough to tell Whitey, I can't imagine how she will react."

"You have to tell her."

"I _know,_ Nathan." Lucas said, agitated.

"I'm not trying to annoy you with this, I just think its important that you tell her before Whitey does. Then she'll be really pissed."

"Fine."

"I'm sorry. I know this sucks for you." Nathan said, reaching to rub Lucas' shoulder.

Lucas pulled away a little and sighed.

"Look, after the dance tomorrow night, I will tell her."

"Why after the dance?"

"Because otherwise I'll be grounded."

"Nice planning."

"Thank you. So are you sure you don't mind coming alone to the dance?'

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be the 5th wheel or whatever."

"She won't be there." Lucas said gently.

"It wouldn't be so bad if she was."

"No, it wouldn't."

* * *

"Nathan! Hurry the hell up we have to go pick up Brooke." Lucas called, adjusting his jacket.

"I'm here." Nathan said, taking a bite from his Pop Tart.

"You're eating now?"

"Why not?"

"I'm sure the girls will complain about crumbs and stuff. Brooke always did with me."

Nathan stuck the other Pop Tart from the package into Lucas' mouth to shut him up.

Lucas took a bite and swallowed.

"Classy."

"That's me." Nathan said.

"Okay let's go."

* * *

"Hi Mom." Lucas said when Karen answered the door.

"Hang on a minute!" Brooke called from the bedroom.

"Well don't you two look handsome." Karen said.

"Thanks." Nathan said.

"Thanks Mom."

Brooke came out, wearing a dark green dress. It was very simple, but nice and elegant. Her hair was slightly curled, and she looked beautiful.

"You look amazing." Lucas said.

"Why thank you. You boys don't look half bad yourself."

"Okay, before you go to meet Jake and Peyton, let me take some pictures." Karen said.

She took a few of Lucas and Brooke, one of all three of them, and a few of Nathan and Lucas goofing around. She had some reservations about Lucas' relationship with Nathan, but they obviously cared a lot about each other and were adjusting well to being brothers to each other.

Brooke linked her left arm into Lucas' arm and her right one into Nathan.

"Look at you Brooke, two dates." Karen laughed.

"Yes, Broody and Badass, the hottest brothers in Tree Hill." Brooke grinned.

"I like that." Lucas said.

"I like you." Brooke whispered in his ear.

* * *

When they arrived, they met up with Peyton, Jake and a bunch of basketball players and their dates.

Lucas and Brooke walked in hand in hand, but Lucas stopped dead when he saw Haley nervously walking around by herself.

"What is she doing here?" Brooke wondered out loud.

"I have no idea. I'll be right back." Lucas said.

"Hey you." Lucas said.

"Hey…you look great."

"Thanks Hales. As do you. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Thanks. And I kind of came to talk to Nathan." Haley said, nodding her head at Nathan, who was talking to Theresa.

"I think that might be good."

"So have fun with Brooke. You both look great."

"Thanks. Save me a dance." Lucas said.

"I will." Haley smiled.

"Everything okay?" Brooke asked, coming up after Haley had gone after Nathan.

"I think it will be."

"So Broody, let's dance." Brooke said.

* * *

"Nathan can I talk to you for a second?" Haley asked quietly.

"Sure…" Nathan said after a moment, and they walked outside.

"I think we need to talk."

"Look, I'm not mad at you anymore really Haley, but I'm still not ready to go back to where we were."

"Nathan, we can't anything about that unless we talk more."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I feel like you're avoiding me."

"Well Haley, maybe I don't necessarily want to talk to you all the time."

"We could start slow, like with tutoring or something."

"Lucas helps me. I'm doing fine in school."

"Fine. Something else then."

"Like what?"

"I don't know Nathan." Haley said, starting to get frustrated.

"I'm not trying to be mean or difficult, I just don't really see the point of forcing something between us that maybe isn't meant to be. I have other things to focus on. My family is finally normal again, and I've been really happy."

"You've become close to your family again."

"Yeah. My parents finally are getting along, my dad and Lucas are getting along, and so I want to be part of that complete family."

"Nathan, you know how your dad is though."

"He's changed. You should see him now with me and Lucas, he doesn't pressure me anymore, he's nice to my mom and is finally a father to Luke."

"Nathan…"

"What Haley? Are you jealous now? Because you aren't the one consistent thing in my life anymore, since you left me months ago? Is it because I am beginning to be able to trust my parents again and I love my brother more than anything in the world?"

"Maybe." Haley said quietly.

"I'm sorry that I am dumping this all on you. When you came back you knew already how I felt, but I also need to be able to tell you myself. I have been avoiding you and putting my focus into other things. And you know what? I've been really happy."

"So you're saying you want nothing to do with me."

"No…I'm just saying that since our friends are pretty much the same, we can still see each other at school and Tric, and go from there." Nathan said.

"Okay. I still love you, you know. I'm willing to wait." Haley said, and left.

"Yeah, I know. Always and forever…" Nathan whispered up to the starry sky.

He walked back into the building and went back to hanging out with Theresa and other cheerleaders, occasionally dancing with them and having fun, but always had the conversation he just had in the back of his mind.

* * *

A song ended, and there was a moment of silence before "You and Me" by Lifehouse started playing. It was the final song of the night.

"I love this song." Brooke said, putting her arms around Lucas.

"That's why I requested it." Lucas whispered.

Brooked leaned into him, and they were both lost in the music and each other.

As the song played on, Brooke looked up at Lucas.

"I'm really glad that you waited for me. I was scared at first of what you said, about wanting to be with me. Thank you for giving me time."

"You're welcome."

"I did have feelings for you when you said you wanted to be with me…and now they're even stronger, because I feel like I'm ready to give it another try."

"I won't screw up this time." Lucas said.

"I know you won't, because you waited until my heart was in the right place, and now I know yours is too."

Lucas smiled as he leaned down to kiss Brooke, and the song came to an end. The kiss didn't last long, but it was romantic and sweet.

"Does this mean we're dating?" Lucas said with a smile.

"It means we're dating and taking it slow."

"Sounds good."

* * *

Lucas walked with Brooke up to Karen's doorstep and kissed her softly again.

"I would invite you in, but this is technically your house." Brooke teased.

"My mom would love that. Nathan and I should get home, I think he and Haley might have had a fight or something, because she left so quick."

"I was surprised she was there."

"She's trying to make up for her mistakes. I just wish she hadn't left, she must be feeling pretty bad now."

"I can call her if you want."

"That would be great. I hope you don't mind that I was planning on dancing with her at least once."

"Not at all. She's your best friend."

"Yeah. Well, Nathan and I should head home."

"You're a good brother to him, Luke."

"I'm glad I'm getting the chance to be." Lucas said.

"Night Broody."

"Night Cheery." Lucas said, and kissed her one more time.

* * *

"So tonight went well." Nathan commented.

"Yeah it did. I see you took my seat."

"I wanted to drive."

"Did you have a good time?"

"For the most part. I finally got to tell Haley what I've been feeling for the past few months, and we agreed to take it step by step."

"I thought you had already come to that conclusion."

"Easier said than done."

"True."

"I'm really happy for you and Brooke. I'm sorry that I was kind of the third wheel at the end there."

"Yeah, having my little brother in the car, very hot." Lucas laughed as Nathan stopped at a red light.

"You bet. It's still good, I hung out with the cheerleaders."

"Nice."

"I'll be okay." Nathan said, turning right.

He had gone a little too soon, a car came from the intersection and collided with their car, sending their car skidding across the street before hitting a pole.

**

* * *

**

**Oh, that's right. I went there. **

**As always, thank you for reading. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I needed to come up with something exciting to happen –evil grin-**

**I actually got the idea while taking the PSATs, which are also evil )**

* * *

Nathan was unconscious for a moment, but opened his eyes almost immediately after the crash. He hurt all over, but he could definitely tell his left arm was broken and that his already injured knee was pretty screwed up.

His head was pounding, and he forced his head up to check on Lucas. Lucas seemed to be unconscious, and Nathan gasped at the amount of blood there was. He weakly grasped at Lucas' arm to check for a pulse. Lucas gently brushed his fingers against Nathan's hand and Nathan felt a slight amount of relief.

Then he allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness as the flashing lights of the ambulance approached.

* * *

Dan and Deb had been enjoying their mini-vacation very much. They were on the beach looking at the stars, when Dan's cell phone rang.

"Dan, I thought we said no cell phones."

"I'm sorry." Dan said, and flipped open his phone.

"Dan Scott."

"Mr. Scott, this is the hospital in Tree Hill, we need you and your wife to come down here."

Dan froze.

"What happened?"

"Your sons have been in a car accident, they were just brought in a little while ago."

"Are they going to be alright?"

"They're both being taken care of as we speak. We'll know more in a little while."

"Okay, we'll be there soon. Thank you." Dan said, and hung up.

Deb was staring, wide eyed at her husband.

"Dan?"

Dan didn't respond, he kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"Dan…. Dan talk to me. What's going on?"

"There's been an accident."

"Oh my God. Nathan? Lucas?"

"Both, they were both brought in. We need to get down there."

"Of course. I'll drive."

"Okay." Dan said.

* * *

They rushed into the emergency room and went up to the desk.

"Hi, we're Deb and Dan Scott. Our sons were in a car accident tonight and were brought in a little while ago?" Dan said.

"Right. Have a seat, and the doctors should be out shortly."

"Thank you." Dan sighed.

"Mr. And Mrs. Scott." Jake called.

"Jake…" Dan said.

"I was driving home from the dance when I saw the ambulances. Do you know anything yet?"

"Not yet, they're still with the doctors."

"I called Karen." Jake said.

"She must be terrified." Deb said.

"We all are." Dan said, grasping Deb's hand.

"Jake…was the accident bad?" Deb asked quietly.

"It looked pretty ugly." Jake admitted.

"Did you see what happened?"

"All I could tell was that they hit a pole, but there was dents on the driver's side as well."

"Are you here for Lucas and Nathan Scott?" A doctor asked.

"Yes." Dan said.

"I'll go get coffee or something." Jake said, and left, leaving them alone with the doctor.

"Your son Nathan is getting x-rays done, his arm was broken in two places, and he'll probably need some more physical therapy for his knee. He also has cuts and bruises, a mild concussion, and will most likely be sore for a while. But he'll be fine."

"And Lucas?" Dan asked.

"Lucas is being treated by another doctor, the blood loss he experienced was pretty serious. He should be fine though, he is stable, he hit his wrist on the dashboard and has a pretty big cut on his forehead that we needed to close up, but like his brother has cuts, bruises, a mild concussion and will have some soreness."

"Should be fine?" Deb said cautiously.

"Deb! Dan!" Karen said, running up to them.

"Karen, this is doctor…"

"Doctor Howard. I was just telling Mr. And Mrs. Scott about Lucas Scott's condition."

"Yes. I'm his mother."

"Oh. Well he is still being treated, his wrist was fractured after hitting the dashboard, he has a mild concussion, with some cuts and bruises. However, because of his heart condition, the blood loss caused his heart rate to go down quite a bit. He's stable now, and will be staying overnight."

"Heart condition?"

Dan looked up in surprise. He was sure Lucas would've told her by now.

"Karen, he has HCM." Dan said quietly.

"What? No. I saw the test, he was fine."

"He used Keith's test results. That's part of the reason he moved in with me last spring, because I was paying for his medication."

Karen didn't know whether to cry or scream.

"How could you keep this from me?"

"Obviously this is a family matter. Either I or another doctor will check in with you shortly." Dr. Howard said, and walked away.

"Dan Scott you have done a lot of low things in your life, but this is low even for you." Karen said darkly.

"Karen, I honestly thought he would've told you by now. He promised me he would."

"You should've told me the minute you found out, he wasn't going to tell anyone! He could've died, Dan! Why didn't you at least make him quit basketball? How could you be so reckless with my son?"

"He's my son too, Karen."

"Oh _now _he is!" Karen yelled.

"Obviously I haven't been there for him, but I am now and we are working on a good relationship, Karen."

"Based on keeping me out of his life!"

"Karen." Deb interrupted.

"Did you know about this?"

"No, no I didn't." Deb said.

"Only me and Nathan knew about it. Now Whitey knows because Lucas quit basketball, and Jake knows because Lucas had some symptoms over the summer."

"What kind of symptoms?" Deb asked, worried.

"He blacked out once playing at the Rivercourt."

Karen was about to respond when Dr. Howard came back to where they were sitting.

"Nathan is all done with x-rays, he's right down the hall, first door to your left. Lucas should be brought to his room pretty soon."

"How long will they have to stay?" Dan asked.

"For right now, just Lucas has to, overnight for observation."

"Okay." Deb said, standing up.

* * *

She and Dan followed the doctor's directions and found Nathan sitting on a table getting a cast put on by the doctor. He already had his knee brace on. The doctor finished up and let them have some time alone.

"Nathan." Deb said tearfully, rushing over to him and hugging him.

"I'm okay. Except everything hurts like hell."

"Oh. Sorry." Deb said, letting go.

"What happened Nathan?" Dan asked.

"I turned too early and collided with a car, which sent us skidding across the street into some telephone pole, and Lucas…oh my God. Is he going to be okay? This is all my fault, I was so stupid!"

"Nathan, he should be fine. He lost a lot of blood, and the HCM probably didn't help much with trying to get his heart rate back to normal, but besides that he broke his wrist and has a concussion like you do."

"Can I see him?"

"He's probably in his room now. Karen will be with him." Deb said.

"She's not too happy with me." Dan said.

"Oh…" Nathan said.

"Yeah." Dan sighed.

"He was going to tell her tomorrow, he didn't want to ruin tonight."

"It's all out in the open now I guess." Dan said.

Dan approached the desk.

"Excuse me, my son Lucas Scott was in a car accident, do you know where he would be?"

"Yes, he's right down the hall, take a right and it's the second door on your right."

"Thank you."

They found Karen was sitting by Lucas' bedside.

"How is he?" Deb asked quietly.

"He's asleep, the doctors said he would probably be pretty weak and sore for awhile."

Nathan sat down on the other side of Lucas.

"How are you feeling Nathan?" Karen asked.

"I'll be okay. I'm so sorry Karen, it's all my fault, I turned too early and-"

"It's alright Nathan. As long as you're both okay."

"Thank you." Nathan sighed, looking down and playing with the edge of the blankets on Lucas' bed.

"Oh, Nate. Jake was here, he saw the accident and wanted to check on you." Deb said after a moment.

"I should go tell him we're okay." Nathan said, getting up slowly.

"Are you okay to go on your own?" Dan asked.

"Yeah." Nathan said.

* * *

"Jake." Nathan called.

Jake was finishing some coffee.

"Hey man, is everything okay?" Jake said.

"Yeah. I'd hug you or something but my entire body hurts." Nathan laughed.

"Is Lucas alright?"

"Yeah, he's pretty wiped out for right now. He's asleep in his room down the hall."

"So I guess you don't have to stay overnight then."

"Nah, except I think we might be here awhile. Karen found out about Lucas' HCM and she was not happy about it."

"Oh man."

"Yeah."

"It is getting late, isn't it? I better get going. Do you want me to call everyone and fill them in?"

"That would be great."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks man." Nathan said, and returned to Lucas' room, where Dan and Deb were waiting outside the door.

"Nathan, we should probably take you home. Your dad is going to stay here and work out the insurance and other things with Karen." Deb said.

"Okay." Nathan said.

"Karen, my mom and I are heading home. I just wanted to say goodbye to Lucas."

"Oh, sure. I need to talk to your Dad anyway." Karen said, kissing Lucas on the forehead and going out to talk with Dan and Deb.

Nathan sat down and watched Lucas for a minute. He looked pretty pale and had dark circles under his eyes.

"Look I know you can't hear me, but I know it worked once before, me sitting here and talking to you, and you woke up. Even though you hated me then." Nathan laughed quietly. He had his hand on the edge of Lucas' bed as he talked to him.

He glanced out the window as he heard the muffled sounds of Karen and his dad talking about bills and insurance. He felt Lucas' fingers brush up against his hand.

"I was asleep, not in a coma. Dumbass." Lucas joked weakly.

"How do you feel?"

"Like crap. You?"

"Ditto. I'm so sorry Luke."

"It was an accident."

"I can't believe how stupid that was."

"We're both okay. By the way you can't borrow my car anymore."

Nathan laughed.

"Well I just came to say goodnight, my mom is taking me home while Dad and your mom have it out about your HCM."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah. She's not too happy right now."

"It's my fault."

"Well at least it's all out in the open now."

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, I'd hug you but like I told Jake, everything hurts."

"Jake was here?"

"He saw the accident. He said to feel better."

"Was Peyton with him?"

"No. He's calling everyone tonight."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow hopefully." Lucas said.

"Yeah we can be on bed rest together." Nathan said.

"So excited." Lucas mumbled sleepily.

"I am out of the game for awhile. And I have to rehab."

"That really sucks. I just have to…sleep a lot." Lucas laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Then I get to learn all about my options for basketball." Nathan said in mock excitement.

"You'll pull through. I'll help you out with the rehab any way I can."

"Love you, man." Nathan said, letting go of Lucas' hand and standing up.

"You too."

**

* * *

**

**Okay, so I didn't make their injuries _too _bad, mainly because I'm not a doctor so I couldn't really write that realistically. However, Nathan has some stuff to deal with now, being out of the game. **

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I'm glad y'all enjoyed the twist, even though I'm a little evil ) **

**And ah, yes. Karen FINALLY knows. This should be…interesting.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you for all the fantastic reviews! Just a note, there's a flashback in italics. **

**

* * *

**Lucas woke up from a deep sleep a little while later. He blinked a few times to focus his eyes, and saw his parents were sitting on opposite ends of the room. Dan was filling out paperwork, and Karen had fallen asleep in her chair.

"Lucas." Dan said, noticing he was awake.

"Hey." Lucas said quietly.

Dan got up and sat besides Lucas' bed.

"I thought you might have gone home by now." Lucas said.

"Your mom and I needed to talk."

"She's so mad, isn't she?"

"Mad at me? Yes. I think she is more hurt by the fact that you didn't tell her."

"Well last year…I knew you wouldn't care if I still played."

"Well last year, I was an idiot. And for many years before that, I was an idiot."

"You're doing better now."

"I hope so. Except your mom doesn't think so."

"She'll calm down." Lucas said half-heartedly.

"Maybe. I guess I should get home and check on Nathan. I'll be back early tomorrow." Dan said, drawing Lucas close.

Lucas buried his head in Dan's shoulder, enjoying the comfort that had been absent from his life all these years.

_

* * *

20-year-old Dan Scott was in Rite-Aid, buying some cold medicine for Deb. He rounded the corner, almost colliding with a dark haired 20-year-old woman, carrying a sleeping toddler._

_"__Dan." Karen gasped._

"_Hey Karen. I'm sure you heard from my lawyer…about the custody case." Dan said, looking wistfully at the blonde boy snuggled up in Karen's arms._

"_Yes…yes I did." Karen said. She had been relieved to find out she wouldn't have to fight in court for custody of Lucas._

"_He told me that I wouldn't have a case, seeing as Deb also was pregnant at the time."_

"_I see."_

_"So...I have to get going..." _

_"Alright. Goodbye Dan."_

_Dan began to walk off, but turned abruptly back to Karen. _

"_Karen, I just need a favor. Just one last thing." Dan said quietly._

"_What's that?"_

"_Can I hold him? Just once." _

_Karen hesitated for a moment, but gently lifted Lucas up and Dan carefully held him close. _

_Lucas stayed asleep and even snuggled into Dan's arms. _

_Dan hugged the little boy tightly then gently returned him to his mother, and left without a word._

_He returned home that night to his wife and youngest son, but everyday he slipped deeper and deeper into a depression that made him cold and unemotional for almost 15 years._

_His anger towards Karen turned into resentment towards Lucas, which he also projected onto Nathan. _

_It took 15 years after that to realize that allowing himself to love again and to make amends was the best thing he could possibly do. _

* * *

Now here he was, able to be close to his son, the son he never knew and pretended for so long not to care about.

Neither knew how much they had missed each other in their lives right in that moment.

"I'll be seeing you." Lucas said, pulling away eventually.

"Yeah. Go back to sleep, you still look tired." Dan said, smiling.

"Bye Dad."

"Bye." Dan said.

Lucas yawned and was back asleep almost instantly.

Karen waited a moment and followed Dan. She woke up when he heard him close the door.

"Dan."

"I was just leaving." Dan said.

"I see."

"Deb's home with Nathan, I want to check on him." Dan said quietly, thinking about their meeting in the drugstore all those years ago.

"She's not going to be happy with you, keeping Lucas' condition from her."

"That may be true, but right now I would rather have your forgiveness, because you are Lucas' mother and deserved to know." Dan said.

"I can't help but feel like you're trying to draw Lucas away from me, and keeping this big secret from me just proves that."

"Karen, last spring when he told me, I honestly was willing to let him do whatever he wanted. I didn't allow myself to care then. I do now, and I wanted him to tell you himself. I'm sorry he didn't, and I probably should have told you before now. But at least now he has medication and he isn't doing basketball."

"Dan you say you have his best interests at heart, but you let him be in danger for so many months."

"Karen, I have apologized, but if you really feel the need to have it out, can we wait until another time? It's late; I want to go see Nathan. I'll come and pick up Lucas tomorrow." Dan said exasperatedly.

"Like hell you will! I'm not letting you take him home after all this."

"Karen," Dan said firmly, "we have a legal agreement. It's still my week with Lucas, and I won't let _you _draw him away from me."

"We'll see." Karen snapped.

"Yeah we will..." Dan sighed.

* * *

"Hey son." Dan said quietly. Nathan was lying on the couch, his knee propped up.

"Hey. You've been gone awhile. Is Lucas alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Karen and I needed to talk about some things."

"She's pissed off, right?"

"Yeah. Hopefully she'll calm down. So…how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, now that I got some painkillers." Nathan grinned.

Dan chuckled.

"These are pretty strong." Dan observed, looking at the bottle.

"Yeah, they are. They got Luke pretty out of it."

"He was barely awake most of the time." Dan agreed.

"Doctors said he'd need a lot of rest."

"You both do. Starting now." Dan said, turning off the TV.

"I don't want to move…can I just sleep here?"

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah."

"I guess its okay then. Call up if you need anything."

"Night dad."

"Night son."

* * *

Dan shut the car door and opened Lucas' door. When he had picked up Lucas that morning, Karen was at the café. He studied his son's face. Lucas still looked tired.

He gently grasped Lucas' arm without the cast and helped him into the house, where Nathan was still camped out on the couch, eating from a box of Cocoa Puffs and watching MTV.

"Hey buddy." Lucas said, sitting next to him.

"Where the hell have you been? Brooke is here and she won't give me the remote back."

"Gee Nate, I missed you too.." Lucas said sarcastically.

"She's forcing me to watch Laguna Beach." Nathan complained as Brooke walked back into the room.

"Brooke are you torturing my little brother?" Lucas said, smiling.

"Laguna Beach usually helps me relax, but your grumpy little brother kept complaining." Brooke said a little stiffly.

"Relax?" Lucas asked. He sensed something was wrong.

"When Karen wasn't home when I got back from Homecoming, I was a little worried. Then when Jake calls me at 2:00 in the morning and tells me that you two were in an accident, I was terrified."

"Oh…"

"So yeah. I freaked out some."

"Brooke listen there's something else I need to tell you…"

"Oh about how you lied to your mom and everyone else about your heart condition? I know."

"She told you." Lucas said slowly.

"Yes she did. How could you keep this from me?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Only Nathan and my dad knew for the longest time, and Jake found out…and now pretty much everyone knows after last night."

"So that's why you weren't at basketball…"

"Yeah."

"Okay, Lucas Scott I will forgive you this one time because things were weird between us then, but no more secrets okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Brooke said, and leaned over to Lucas. She kissed his face where there were scratches and then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm glad you're okay," She said softly. "Both of you." She added, looking at Nathan.

"Thanks Brooke." They both responded. Nathan turned back to the television, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Well, Peyton and I need to go shopping. So I'll come see you later baby." Brooke said, kissing Lucas, and then leaning over him to kiss Nathan on the cheek.

"Bye." Lucas smiled.

After Brooke left, Nathan stuck out the box of cereal to Lucas, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"She was here at like the crack of dawn man." Nathan said.

"Why didn't she come to the hospital?" Lucas asked, taking a handful of cereal.

"Your mom was still pretty fuming about everything so I guess Brooke stayed with her for some time, and then helped her open the café."

"I was kind of surprised she wasn't there this morning."

"Brooke?"

"My mom."

"Oh."

"I'm going to get an earful on Friday when I get back to her house."

"Sucks."

"Yeah, so…how are you?"

"I'm pissed off, I have to do a whole bunch of rehab to my knee now."

"I'm really sorry. Like I said last night, I'll help you anyway I can."

"I just might take you up on that. It's going to be hard to get my knee back in working order when I have to think about this stupid cast on my arm."

Lucas laughed and looked at the cast on his own arm.

"When does rehab start?"

"Next week."

"Tell me when and I'll be there."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Brooke rang the doorbell a few hours later. Deb opened the door.

"Hi Mrs. Scott, how are the boys?"

"Good, Brooke. Still watching that show you put on for them."

Brooke giggled.

"They're watching the Laguna Beach marathon still?"

"Yes." Deb laughed.

Brooke headed into the living room. Lucas was sitting upright and was sound asleep, and Nathan was asleep too, his head resting on Lucas' shoulder.

"Or maybe they're not." Deb said.

"Cute." Brooke smiled.

"I'd hate to wake them."

"Don't worry about it. I'll go help Karen close up the cafe."

"Is she still upset?"

"Yeah." Brooke sighed.

"Lucas and Dan have a lot to answer for I guess."

"Karen will get over it. She's understanding."

"I hope so. I'll tell the boys you stopped by."

"Thanks." Brooke said.

* * *

Brooke returned to Karen's house to find her on the phone.

"When will you get here?" She heard Karen ask.

"Okay. I'll pick you up then. Love you, Andy. See you soon"

* * *

Nathan woke up and lifted his head from Lucas' shoulder. He glanced at the clock and saw it was past midnight.

"Luke, let's go upstairs." Nathan said, gently waking Lucas up.

"What?"

"It's past midnight and I haven't moved from this couch in 24 hours. Let's go upstairs."

"Okay." Lucas mumbled, and stood up.

Nathan put his hand on the couch and eased himself up. His knee was unsteady under his weight. Lucas used his free arm to steady his brother.

"You alright?" He asked, concerned.

"Not used to walking I guess."

"You seemed fine last night."

"I didn't really put weight on my knee."

"Okay, well here we go…" Lucas said, grabbing Nathan's arm and helping him upstairs to his bedroom.

"You good?"

"I'm good." Nathan responded.

"Alright. See you in the morning."

"Wait, Lucas."

"Yeah?"

"Can you get me some of the pills? It's gonna be a rough night without them."

"Oh right. Here." Lucas said, filling a glass of water and handing it to Nathan.

Nathan took the medicine and finished the water.

"Night little brother."

"Night Luke."

Lucas returned to his own room just as his cell phone began to vibrate on the table. His caller ID told him it was Brooke.

"Hello Brooke."

"Hey Lucas…I need to tell you something."

"Okay." Lucas said, sitting down.

"Your mom just called your stepfather to be…he's coming back soon."

"Do you know when?" Lucas sighed.

"No, I just overheard her talking to him."

"Great…"

"Do you know why he's coming?"

"Well, wedding plans, and there's also the HCM and car accident now."

"Your mom might need someone to talk to." Brooke said.

"I guess, listen thanks for telling me. I need to sleep now, I'll call you tomorrow."

"I have school Broody."

"Right. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon."

"Bye gorgeous." Brooke said, and hung up.

Lucas sighed and fell back on his bed.

"Great...just great." He muttered.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! **  



	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing! And kudos to those who picked up on Nathan's new storyline ) **

* * *

"I guess Deb's letting us stay home for awhile?" Lucas asked the next morning, walking into Nathan's room. 

"Yeah, she left a note saying to call her at the café if we needed anything. Dad will be in and out today too." Nathan said, turning on his TV.

Lucas sat next to him.

"How's your knee?"

"I can't wait to start rehab and get back in the game."

"I bet."

"How 'bout you?"

"I'm so tired. Like no matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. I felt that way after Keith and I got into that accident…but I was also dealing with a lot of stuff. With Brooke. And Peyton."

"You and Brooke are good together."

"Yeah we are. I panicked a little when she brought up the HCM thing. I should've told her, and everyone else."

"Well, it's Brooke, so it's probably all over school right about now." Nathan laughed.

Lucas chuckled.

"Nate." Lucas said awhile later.

"Luke."

"I am so bored."

"Me too."

"I better enjoy it though, I have to face my mom and Andy Friday."

"Wait, both of them?"

"Yeah, my mom called him."

"That's crazy."

"I know. It's going to be so bad with her, and weird with him because of the whole Dad investigation thing."

"Damn."

"Exactly."

* * *

A week later, Dan pulled up in front of Karen's house to drop Lucas off.

"I'll come over tomorrow to go to rehab with Nathan." Lucas said.

"Okay. I think it starts at 2:00."

"Alright…I'll be up around 1ish I guess. See you then."

Lucas got out of the car and started heading up the walkway.

"Lucas, your bag."

"Oh. Whoops." He said, jogging back and grabbing his backpack out of the car. He was so distracted, afraid of what was waiting inside.

* * *

"Hi Mom." Lucas said quietly.

"Hello Lucas. I forgot to tell you, Andy will be here tomorrow and he'll be staying with us."

"Okay." Lucas said, pretending Brooke hadn't told him.

"Unpack your stuff and then we can talk."

He headed to his room and put his bag on the floor. He took out his school stuff and put it on his desk, and took out a novel and carefully placed it on his bookshelf.

"I happened to notice all you brought was a backpack so I am assuming you don't need a lot of time." Karen called.

"Right…" Lucas sighed, as he entered the kitchen.

"Sit." Karen said firmly.

Lucas sat down, bracing himself for a lecture.

Karen slammed a book on the table in front of him.

"Living With HCM." He read out loud.

"I needed to catch up on my reading since I've been so out of the loop." Karen said darkly.

"Mom, I know you're really mad at me, and I understand."

Karen waited.

"Is that it?" She asked.

"All I really have to add is that I'm sorry. I should've told you, but I was afraid of your reaction so instead I went to Dad for help…because I knew I wouldn't have to deal with quitting basketball or the cost of medication."

"Lucas Scott, you knew how I would react and you deliberately used the easy way out."

"I know." Lucas sighed.

"Suddenly I have to wonder why my son has decided to live with the father who abandoned him, and when I find out one reason, he still stays there. I look like a fool, trying to figure out what could draw him to this man who alternates between ignoring him and torturing him."

"He's not like that anymore." Lucas insisted.

"I don't care how well he treats you now, I'm talking about last spring, when you should've told me that you have a potentially fatal heart condition."

"I wish I could say something else to make this better, but all I can say is that I'm sorry, and that I was scared Mom."

"All I need to know is why."

"I just told you Mom." Lucas said exasperatedly.

"Lucas you are not getting annoyed with me I hope." Karen said firmly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but I've apologized and explained myself to you, but you want more from me than I can give you."

"Fine. I just need to think about this."

"Dad is paying for my medication, that's all taken care of, and I quit basketball, so I'm pretty good for right now. Dad took me to the doctors after I collapsed, and he recommended I do some exercise-"

"I was talking about the fact that my son has a serious condition." Karen cut him off.

"Mom, I'm going to be okay."

"You don't know that." Karen said tearfully.

Lucas stood up and hugged his mom.

"I promise you I will be safe, I won't keep anything from you now."

"I know sweetie."

"I love you Mom."

"I love you too. However, you're grounded for this week, and the next week you're here."

"Say what?" Lucas said, pulling away.

"You lied to me Lucas, and that merits a punishment."

Lucas sighed.

"I understand. But can I please go with Nathan tomorrow to his rehab session?"

"I suppose. How's he doing?"

"His knee is going to need a lot of work, especially since it was just done healing a few months ago. He's pretty bummed about it."

"I bet."

"Thanks for letting me go."

"He could use someone to be there for him."

"Yeah."

"So, now that we've talked, Brooke and I are going to meet the real estate agent."

"Um…" Lucas was confused.

"She told me all about your new relationship. Congratulations by the way. You two can't live under the same roof, so her parents are paying for her apartment." Karen said quickly, and picked up her purse.

Lucas just nodded.

"Okay, we'll be back in time for dinner, don't go out, watch TV or get on the phone."

"Bye mom."

* * *

"Hi Nathan I'm Kelly, I'll be working with you today." The therapist said, greeting them the next day.

"Hey. This is my brother, Lucas." Nathan said sullenly.

Lucas shook Kelly's hand.

"Okay, well usually I would have you use both hands to support yourself as you walked along here, but you have a cast. How did you injure yourself again?"

"Car accident." Nathan said simply.

Lucas helped Nathan walk along the bars, gripping his arm as support. Nathan kept walking, but was very distant and unresponsive to Kelly's positive advice.

* * *

"God she was annoying." Nathan said as soon as they got into the house. Dan had to return to the dealership, which was ready to reopen, so he dropped them off.

"You didn't even try to like her."

"Nope."

"Nice. That was…an interesting session."

"I wasn't really into it."

"Really? I had no idea." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Look, I don't need some perky therapist cheering me on. I just need a little time to get myself together."

"Nathan it's okay to need help, that's her job."

"Well she sucks at it."

"You didn't even give her a chance."

"Lucas, I don't need a shrink. And I don't need some cheerleader pretending to be a therapist."

"Nathan come on, this is important. You need to be able to play in a month when your cast comes off."

"I will."

"I know it's painful and it sucks."

"Not really."

"I went through this last year, I didn't want to do anything at all at first."

"Well, I want to get back in the game, but Therapist Barbie will try to baby me."

"Look, Nathan…"

"I'm fine, Lucas."

"You can talk to me, you know."

"I'm fine. Just lay off."

"Fine." Lucas said, grabbing his sweatshirt.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." Lucas said, slamming the front door.

Nathan wanted to go after him, but he was already in a bad mood, and his knee was killing him.

He slowly made his way upstairs to the bathroom and studied his face in the mirror.

Rehab had been hard that day, he was still a little flushed and he was tired.

He glanced down at the sink, where the bottle of painkillers was. Gently, he picked them up and stared at them. Then he grabbed a few and took them with a swig of water.

He wiped his mouth and returned to his bedroom, turning off the light.

* * *

"Lucas, you're back." Karen greeted him.

"Yeah, hey."

"How was the session?"

"Um, okay."

"Not so good?"

"Not so good." Lucas agreed.

"Why?"

"Nathan is having a tough time admitting that he needs help. But he'll get over it; he is really working hard though.

"Good, good. Andy's here."

"Great." Lucas said, following Karen into the living room.

"Lucas, good to see you." Andy said, shaking Lucas' hand.

"You too. Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks. So I hear a lot has changed since we left."

"Yup."

"I'm going to check on dinner. We're eating early tonight." Karen said.

"Okay Mom."

"So, Lucas…your feelings on Dan have certainly changed." Andy said after a moment.

"Yeah they have. So I hope you'll put an end to that whole investigation, it's much better this way."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"If you say so." Andy said dismissively.

"I do." Lucas said firmly.

"How's your new living arrangement?"

"Great. I love it." Lucas said happily.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I get to see my mom all the time, but now I also get to see my Dad and Nathan a lot more. Plus, I really got to know Deb this time."

"Your mom said you and Nathan are practically glued together now."

Lucas laughed a little.

"I don't know about that, but we're pretty good…usually…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Nathan's just having some trouble with rehab after the accident and it's getting him down." Lucas said quickly, not really wanting to talk to Andy about his personal problems with Nathan.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Are you okay? It sounded like a nasty crash."

"It was, my car is completely messed up. A car hit the driver side and it sent the car into a pole on my side."

Andy winced.

"Yeah." Lucas said.

"You two are extremely lucky."

"Trust me, I know. It could've been a lot worse, especially since my heart-"

"Lucas, why didn't you tell your Mom about that? I could've helped you."

"My dad didn't care last year what would happen to me, so he let me play basketball, and he could pay for my medication too, without my mom knowing."

"That was extremely stupid."

"I know. Two near blackouts and one actual one later, I know."

"Sounds serious."

"I'm taking it easy." Lucas said, wanting the subject to change.

"Dinner time!" Karen called out.

Lucas got up, eager to have a normal conversation. The doorbell rang, and Lucas went to answer the door.

"Hey sexy." Brooke greeted him.

"Hey." Lucas said happily, kissing her.

"Your mom invited me over for dinner."

"I guess she wanted to surprise me."

"Did I surprise you?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be grounded. Now we have a lovely double date with my mom." Lucas laughed.

"Exciting Saturday night. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better."

"Good."

"Shall we?" Lucas said, sticking out his arm.

"We shall." Brooke said, linking her arm into his.

Brooke and Lucas went into the dining room to have a nice, quiet meal with Karen and Andy, where they glossed over all the current issues and talked about wedding plans.

"That was actually nice." Brooke said later that night. She and Lucas were on the porch steps, looking at the stars.

"Yeah, I'm excited for my mom's wedding." Lucas said, putting his arm around Brooke.

"She deserves it."

"Yeah."

"Do you and Andy still get along?"

"It's going to be weird, having him as a step-dad. I'm still getting used to having my real dad in my life…and not hating him."

"Lucas, I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks Brooke." Lucas said, kissing the top of her head.

"Anytime." Brooke said, snuggling into his arms.

* * *


	25. Chapter 25

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Nathan sat on his bed, flipping channels. Lucas had been at his mom's all week, so he had nobody to talk to during the day.

Luckily, Lucas was coming back that day.

However, he didn't know if Lucas was upset with him still.

He perked up when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Lucas." He called out.

"Hey." Lucas called from the hallway.

"Can we talk?"

"Give me a sec."

Lucas dropped his backpack on his bed and went across the hall. He leaned against Nathan's doorway.

"Want to go back to school yet?"

"I wanted to go back to school like a week ago." Nathan complained.

"Wow. You must be really bored then."

"Absolutely."

"Notice anything different?" Lucas said, holding up his arms.

"You got your cast off." Nathan noticed.

"Yeah, Dad took me after school."

"Lucky."

"Just a few more weeks with yours."

"True." Nathan sighed.

"Your mom told me you had to get a tutor."

"I'm going to be so behind as it is."

"If you need any help…"

"Thanks...so we're cool?"

"Yeah." Lucas said.

"I'm sorry for how I acted last week."

"It's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I acted that way too last year after I hurt my shoulder."

"Okay. So how much trouble are you in with your mom?"

"I was grounded last week, and next week when I'm there."

"Wow."

"She was pretty upset, but I think we're good now. I hope."

"How was Andy?"

"I don't know…he was definitely on my mom's side. I'm just sick of everyone asking me why I did this, or why I did that."

"You mean with Dad?"

"Among other things."

"I know what you mean."

"Yeah. Okay, so I have to go back to either my mom's or the café…I left my history book somewhere."

"Typical. See you later." Nathan said, sticking out his fist.

Lucas pounded his fist with Nathan's and left.

* * *

Lucas jogged into the café and up to the counter where Karen was making coffee.

"Mom have you seen-"

"Your history book?" Deb said, walking up next to Karen and holding out a textbook.

"Thank you." Lucas said.

"You have also left two novels here since last Friday." Deb said, pulling them out from under the counter.

"I didn't even realize I was missing these."

"Well I saved you a trip." Deb smiled.

"Yes you did. I have to go, I guess I'll see you tonight."

"That you will." Deb said.

"Bye Mom." Lucas said to Karen, and went back outside.

* * *

Outside, he nearly collided with Haley.

"Hales." Lucas said, hugging her tight.

"Hey."

"I haven't seen you around."

"I know, I've been working really hard in school to catch up after the tour. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better."

"I'm so sorry I didn't come see you, I just…"

"I understand, don't worry about it. Want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah." Haley smiled.

They set off through the park. A kid went by on his skateboard, so Lucas grabbed Haley's hand and pulled her away.

"Space cadet." He teased.

"Shut up." Haley laughed.

Lucas led her to a bench and they both sat down.

"So how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine…stressed…and I feel awful about how Nathan and I left things."

"Yeah it didn't sound too good." Lucas said.

"I know he wants me to back off, but how do I know when he'll be ready to talk again?"

"I don't know, he's hurting Hales, and now he has rehab to deal with. I try to help him, but there's only so much I can do for him."

"I know. I just feel awful because we had a huge fight, and I kind of admitted I was a little jealous of you."

"Of me?"

"Yeah. How close you two have gotten, how you two have been able to move on. He told me he loves you more than anything."

Lucas smiled really wide.

"That means a lot to me."

"I'm glad. Seriously though, I was just feeling sorry for myself that night." Haley said.

"In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to know my dad, and my brother. Now…I just can't believe it's happening sometimes."

"You used to tell me about how you wished your dad would just come back and say he was sorry…"

"…And that he loved me and we could be a family again. Then me and my little brother would hang out, grow up together, and play basketball together." Lucas finished.

"Yeah." Haley said quietly.

"Every single birthday and every single Christmas I would wish for that. It would change just a little bit each year, as I got older, but I still wanted it. Even last year, when Nathan and I actually started talking, and he was a jackass, I wanted it."

"Now you have it."

"Yeah, I do." Lucas said happily.

"It's getting dark." Haley noticed.

"Time flies. I better get home." Lucas said, pulling Haley in for a hug.

"See you."

"Bye buddy. Love you."

"Love you too." Haley said.

* * *

"Lucas, where have you been?" Deb asked when he walked in.

"I'm sorry, I ran into Haley and lost track of time."

"It's alright, I just thought you were coming straight home."

"Sorry."

"No problem. Dinner will be in 10 minutes."

"Okay, is it okay if I take Brooke to a movie afterwards?"

"As long as you're home by midnight."

"Alright."

* * *

"Hey boyfriend."

"Hey." Lucas said, getting into Brooke's car. He still didn't have a car after the accident.

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that." Brooke said.

Lucas put his hands on her face and kissed her.

"Much better." Brooke laughed.

Lucas laughed.

"Okay, so since I am driving I get to pick the movie." Brooke grinned.

"Oh boy."

"How does _Elizabethtown_ sound?"

"That's fine."

"Really?"

"Sure."

They entered the theater and sat in the back.

Lucas grabbed Brooke's hand as the lights went off.

Brooke smiled and squeezed his hand.

In the middle of the movie, Brooke leaned over to Lucas.

"You like it?" She whispered.

"It's alright." Lucas whispered back.

"Are you bored."

"No." Lucas assured her, kissing her hand, which was still clasped with his.

* * *

"Well thank you for a lovely evening." Brooke said, standing on Dan's doorstep with Lucas.

"You too, Brooke Davis." Lucas said.

They kissed goodnight and Lucas went inside.

"What's up?" Nathan greeted him. He was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to catch up with his schoolwork.

"Doing homework?"

"Yeah."

"On Friday night."

"Yes. Shut up, my life sucks."

"It will get better." Lucas said, messing up Nathan's hair.

"Yeah, yeah." Nathan said, smacking Lucas' arm away.

"I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow." Lucas said.

As he picked up his jacket, there was a faint sound of thunder. Lucas smiled a little and looked out the window.

"I love thunderstorms." He said.

"Me too." Nathan said, surprised.

"Don't be so shocked little brother." Lucas said.

Nathan laughed.

"Everyone else thinks I'm crazy." Nathan said.

"Well now you're not alone."

* * *

A few minutes later, Nathan made his way upstairs. His knee was feeling better, but he knew that it would be awhile before he got back into gear.

He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Then he opened his medicine cabinet and took out the bottle of pills.

There were only a few left.

He thought for a minute and got an idea, and headed towards Lucas' room.

* * *

Lucas went into his own bathroom. He took his HCM medication, and as he was just shutting the medicine cabinet Nathan appeared in the doorway.

"Jeez!" Lucas said, startled.

"Sorry." Nathan said, feeling bad.

"It's okay. Just remember I have a weak heart." Lucas laughed.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. So did you need something?"

* * *

**I'll try to be better about updating! Please read and review. **


	26. Chapter 26

**Thanks for reading and reviewing as always, hope you enjoy )**

* * *

Nathan wasn't expecting to Lucas to be there, so he didn't have anything to say. 

"Nate?" Lucas asked after a moment.

"I…uh…just wanted to know how it went with Brooke." Nathan lied.

"Oh…it was fine. We saw _Elizabethtown._"

"What's that, a chick flick?"

"Oh yeah." Lucas laughed.

"Nice. Well, uh…"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess I'm just tired and stressed out."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"What time is your rehab session tomorrow?"

"I think 4:00. You're coming again?"

"If you want me to."

"I do."

"Good."

"Good."

"Okay, so…I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yeah. Night." Nathan mumbled.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem distracted."

"No. Fine."

"Okay. Well I'm going to say goodnight to Dad and Deb. Sweet dreams little brother."

"You too."

Lucas went downstairs.

Once Nathan heard Lucas' footsteps on the stairs, he looked back at the medicine cabinet. He hesitated for a moment, but opened the door and took out the bottle of painkillers.

Quickly he made he way back to his room and popped a pill before going to sleep.

* * *

Lucas woke up the next morning and decided to go for a walk to the café and then to the music store.

Deb was at the counter, making the first batch of coffee for the day.

"Hey Deb."

"Lucas, you're up early."

"Yeah, for some reason I couldn't really sleep in."

"Your brother seems to have the opposite problems lately."

"He's just bored. I feel for him, having to stay home."

"He keeps busy during the day though. He's working hard with the tutor, and his grades have never been better."

"That's great."

"I think his brother tutoring him might have helped too." Deb said, smiling.

"Nah." Lucas said, trying to hide his smile.

"Don't be so modest." Deb said.

"Morning Deb…Lucas." Karen said, walking into the café.

"Hi mom."

"What are you doing here?"

"On my way to the music store."

"Meeting Brooke?" Deb asked.

"You know, that is a great idea." Lucas said, taking out his cell phone.

"I'll see you later." He said, walking outside to call Brooke.

"Lucas, it's 9:00 on a Saturday." Brooke grumbled.

"Nice to see you live up to your nickname, Cheery."

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd want to meet me at the music store and then we could spend the day together."

"The whole day?" Brooke said, sounding interested.

"Well…until four."

"What's at four?"

"I'm going to Nathan's rehab with him again."

"Oh. Okay, I can meet you there in twenty minutes."

"Great. Actually…meet me at the café, I can get something to eat while I wait. Unless you want to have something together?"

"Don't worry, I can just wait until the fabulous lunch I know you'll be taking me too."

Lucas laughed.

"Alright. See you soon."

"Bye Broody." Brooke said, hanging up.

Lucas walked back into the café.

"Okay, feed me." He said to Karen, sitting back down and drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What'll it be?" Karen asked.

"Surprise me. And some coffee."

"Coming right up."

Lucas finished eating and was chatting with his mom and Deb as they worked.

Brooke walked into the café and up behind Lucas. She smiled and put her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Ready for a Brooke Davis day?"

"Always." Lucas laughed. He stood up and took her hand.

"Bye." He called out to Deb and Karen as Brooke dragged him outside.

* * *

Nathan woke up at 10:00, feeling a lot better. He had a lot more pills now, and he didn't have to make them last anymore.

He opened his bedside table drawer and took another.

Then he took a shower and went downstairs.

"Morning son." Dan said, packing up his briefcase.

"Hey dad. Going to work?"

"Yep. Today is the first official day back."

"That's good."

"Maybe I can look into getting you and Lucas new cars. His car is beyond saving, and I'm sure you'd rather have a better car than the junky one you and Keith fixed up."

"Lucas had it running pretty well before the accident. He said all he needed to do was the exterior and the music system."

"He's damn good with cars."

"Yeah. So I'll pass, but thanks."

"That's very mature of you."

"Thanks." Nathan said.

"I've got to run. See you tonight."

"Wait, what about rehab?"

"Lucas can drive your car." Dan pointed out.

"That's a good point. Okay see you tonight."

"Bye." Dan said, and left.

* * *

"Okay Nate, you're doing a lot better." Kelly said.

"Yeah." Lucas agreed.

"Okay, well I think that's enough for today. Good job today." Kelly said, before heading back to her office.

"Feeling better?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. In fact, I kind of want to do a few more."

"Should I go find Kelly?"

"Nah, you're good enough."

"Thanks." Lucas laughed.

Nathan used his free hand to support himself and slowly made his way across the room. He did it a few more times until the familiar pang in his knee began to return. He winced when he got back to where Lucas was standing.

"You okay?"

"Okay, I pushed a little too hard." Nathan said, gritting his teeth.

"Okay, okay. We're off then."

Lucas gripped Nathan's elbow and helped him to the car.

"I'll get on doing the exterior of this baby this week." Lucas said once they were in the car.

"Great." Nathan said quietly.

"You okay?"

"Yes." Nathan said firmly.

"You did great today."

"Thanks."

Lucas rubbed Nathan's shoulder before pulling out of the parking lot.

Nathan got out the car, limped his way up to his bedroom, and took another pill. Then he went downstairs and sat on the couch next to Lucas.

"You're moving around a lot better."

"Yeah, I'm getting to that point again like last year, when I can probably stop sitting around all the time."

"Going back to school Monday?"

"I hope so."

"Cool."

"Okay boys, it's that time of year." Deb said, walking in and dropping her keys on the coffee table.

Lucas looked at Nathan, who shrugged.

"Huh?" Nathan asked.

"Basketball Appreciation Party."

"Oh." Both boys said, nodding.

"Yes. So we need to get the house ready, plan everything and make sure you both have suits to wear."

"Okay." Lucas said.

"Be glad you're only here every other week." Nathan said as soon as Deb was out of earshot.

"Why is Deb a big party planner?"

"No. Dad is."

Lucas laughed.

"Hopefully it won't suck this year." Nathan said, lying back on the couch.

"Yeah." Lucas agreed.

"Lucas your mom is on the phone!" Deb called.

"Oh…okay." Lucas said, getting up and taking the phone from Deb.

"Hi honey." Karen said, sounding excited.

"Hey what's up?"

"I was just wondering when you plan on being home this week?"

"Uh..."

"Friday night or Saturday morning?"

"Probably Saturday. I haven't been to a game in awhile."

"Oh okay."

"What's going on?"

"I'll tell you Saturday."

"Alright. Bye mom." Lucas said, hanging up.

"What was that about?" Deb asked.

"Beats me." Lucas said.

**

* * *

**

**Alrighty now, Nathan's building up that tolerance to the painkillers. Yikes.**

**I'm going to probably have a time jump or two in the next chapter. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, and sorry for the lack of updating. School is taking over my life. **

* * *

"Okay, I'm off." Lucas said, walking into the kitchen Saturday morning. 

"No time for breakfast?" Deb asked.

"My mom wants to talk to me about something." Lucas said, picking up Nathan's glass of juice and taking a sip.

He made a face when he tasted vodka in it.

"Something wrong?" Deb asked.

Lucas glanced at Nathan who widened his eyes at him.

"Uh no…I just don't really like pulp." Lucas lied.

"That'll teach you to take my juice." Nathan said swiftly, taking the glass back from Lucas and downing the rest of it.

"See ya." Lucas said to Dan and Deb.

"Bye." Dan said.

"Don't forget your suit next week." Deb said.

"Right."

Lucas went to his room and got his backpack.

Deb had bought him some new clothes, so he didn't really need an extra bag between houses anymore.

"Lucas." Nathan said, following him.

"Nice screwdriver you made back there." Lucas said.

"Look, it's not that bad, I was just…bored."

"You're very weird." Lucas laughed.

"I know."

"Just keep it in check." Lucas said pointedly.

"I will. I promise."

"Alright. See you Monday. You're coming back to school right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

They pounded fists and Lucas went to Karen's.

* * *

"Mom I'm home." He called out, opening the door.

He surveyed the room, taking in all the boxes strewn across the floor.

"Hey Lucas." Andy said, entering the room.

"What the…"

"Your mom hasn't told you." Andy said.

"She wanted to talk in person, where is-"

"Oh good you're here." Karen said.

"Yeah, and uh…" Lucas pointed to all the boxes.

"We're moving into Andy's house!" Karen said excitedly.

"What?"

"His house is beautiful Lucas, and there's tons of room, it will be great."

"I know...it's just that I grew up here." Lucas said sadly.

"Oh I know honey, but it will be great. We're going to start a new life, together."

"Yeah." Lucas said after a moment.

"You don't seem happy. I promise you, it will be great." Andy said.

"Sure, it's just a lot to process."

"Of course." Karen said.

"So um, when is moving day?"

"Two weeks from now."

"Wow, that soon?"

"Yes. Then we can put the finishing touches on the wedding plans and we'll be set." Karen said.

"Fantastic." Lucas muttered under his breath.

* * *

That next Friday, Lucas waited outside the school for Nathan. There was no game that night, because of the Basketball Appreciation Party the next day.

"There you are." Lucas said as Nathan approached.

"Sorry."

"How was your first week back?"

"I owe you big. I'm a lot less behind than I thought I was."

"That's good."

"Alright let's go." Nathan said.

They got home and were removing their backpacks to toss on the floor of the foyer, when Deb called out to them.

"Don't you two dare. Take them upstairs."

"That was freaky." Lucas laughed.

"She knows everything, man."

* * *

"So Lucas, your mom told me about moving into Andy's house." Deb said at dinner that night.

"Yeah." Lucas said sullenly.

"And Luke can't stop talking about how excited he is." Nathan said sarcastically.

"This whole thing is weird." Lucas said.

"Does your mom know it is?" Dan asked.

"Um, well I tried to tell her that I didn't really want to move out of the house I grew up in, but she and Andy were just kind of raving about how great it will be, and how we'll all be a new family."

"It's better than wanting to move to New Zealand." Dan pointed out.

"True, I just didn't want to completely separate from my childhood house, my mom's house, it's _our_ house."

"It must be hard." Deb said sympathetically.

"Kind of. It will be good though." Lucas said half-heartedly.

"Yeah." Deb agreed.

"May I be excused?"

"Alright. Plans with Brooke?"

"Yeah, just to get coffee. I told you this afternoon I thought."

"Oh that's right. Remember, midnight. I don't want you to be sluggish for the party."

"Okay."

"Can I be excused too? I want to talk to Tim." Nathan asked.

"Yes you may." Deb said.

"Sup Nate?" Tim answered his cell phone.

"Hey. I have a favor to ask."

"Sure."

"Is your brother still friends with that guy who works at the pharmacy?"

"Yeah…"

"Great. I need some painkillers. Can you have them by tomorrow?"

"Yeah, he's meeting with him tonight actually. Why do you need these?"

"For my knee, Tim." Nathan said impatiently.

"Oh. Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it won't be like with the amphetamines."

"Alright…"

"Trust me, Tim. Alright? See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

* * *

"Yo Luke." Nathan called as he got to the bottom of the stairs the next day.

"Yeah?"

"Help me with this, will you?" Nathan said, indicating the untied tie around his neck.

"Sure." Lucas said, tying it.

"Thanks."

"No problem. What time is it?" He asked as the doorbell rang.

"Time to be good hosts. Go finish getting ready." Dan said, striding towards the door.

Dan opened the door to find Karen standing there.

"Hello Karen." Dan said, surprised to see her there.

"Dan." Karen said stiffly.

"Luke!" Dan called.

Karen waited in silence.

"Lucas!" Dan called.

There was a thud, laughter and then shushing upstairs.

"Did you call me?" Lucas said after a moment.

"Yeah. Your mom's here."

"Oh!"

Lucas came back downstairs..

"What were you two doing?"

"Spider in the bathroom."

Despite herself, Karen chuckled at her son's fear of spiders.

"Alright then." Dan said.

"Hi mom."

"Hi Lucas."

"Deb's in the kitchen with the caterers if you want to say hello." Dan said.

"Alright. Excuse me." Karen said.

"I invited her because she's still friends with Deb, and she supports the team and all..." Lucas said.

"It's fine. As long as little Andy didn't come."

"Nope. I'm sure he's home packing up everything for tomorrow." Lucas sighed.

Dan smiled and put his arm across Lucas' shoulders.

"It will be fine."

"Hopefully."

"By the way, I do not want a repeat discovery of you and a girl in the bedroom like last year." Dan whispered in his ear.

"Gotcha." Lucas said.

* * *

"…my lovely wife for setting up this party. Look at this, please. But Raven team spirit also includes the parents and the local businesses, whose financial support make this team great." Dan said to the smiling crowd.

Dan looked at Lucas, who raised his eyebrows.

"And the coaching staff." Dan said quickly.

Lucas smiled.

"Tonight's for you. Enjoy." Dan finished, and the guests applauded.

"I think that's the first time in 4 years he's mentioned Whitey." Nathan said, sipping his drink.

"What've you got there?"

"Beer."

"Nate." Lucas sighed.

"Luke." Nathan imitated.

"What's up with all the drinking?"

"Nothing. It's a party. Don't worry, I'm keeping it under control." Nathan said, patting Lucas on the back.

"About ready to get back in the game?" Whitey asked, approaching the brothers.

"Hell yes."

"Better get your ass into the weight room as soon as that cast comes off."

"Oh come on coach, you know I'm still good. I can pick up Lucas." Nathan laughed.

"Yes and nobody wants a repeat of the ocean incident."

"What are you two bickering about?" Whitey asked.

"Nathan, being the graceful guy that he is, decides to grab me and trips halfway into the ocean, sending us both into freezing cold water." Lucas said.

Whitey chuckled.

"You two are idiots."

"Thank you." Nathan said.

Lucas laughed.

"I'll be right back. Refill." Nathan said.

"So how are you doing, Lucas?" Whitey asked.

"Um…fine." Lucas said uncomfortably. As much as he liked Whitey, they hadn't spoken much since he quit.

"The team isn't the same without you."

"I'm sorry I only just started coming back to games."

"Don't worry about it."

"Coach, do you think I could talk to Lucas for a minute?" Tim asked as he approached.

"Sure." Whitey said.

"Where's Nathan?"

"Refilling his beer. He better be careful about sneaking alcohol at this thing."

"Yeah," Tim said, "Especially since he's probably gonna be popping those painkillers later."

"Tim, Nathan and I stopped needing painkillers over a month ago." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"He just bought some off my brother." Tim said in confusion.

"What?"

"He has a connection at the pharmacy, I thought you knew."

"Why the hell would I know about Nathan abusing prescription drugs?" Lucas hissed.

"I'm sorry man, I just thought it was Dan being a hardass about the whole basketball thing. You know, no pain, no gain."

"He should've stopped taking those."

"Well he apparently didn't."

"What the hell Tim…" Lucas said in frustration.

"I'm really sorry. What are you going to do?"

"Talk to him about it. Dammit, he's probably completely hooked on them now." Lucas ran his fingers through his hair.

"Be careful man, he'll be in extreme denial."

"Why do you know so much about this?"

"Hi, my brother is a drug dealer. I've learned the signs of addiction. It's just that I haven't really been around Nathan much lately…"

"But I have…I can't believe I missed it."

Lucas waited patiently for the party to end, faking smiles and pleasantries with the guests. All of his friends knew something was on his mind, except for Nathan who had been indulging in booze and conversation with the cheerleaders.

As soon as the last guest left, Lucas ran upstairs and opened his medicine cabinet. He saw his HCM medication, a bottle of aspirin, and a razor. But no bottle of painkillers.

Overcome with dread, he went into Nathan's room, which was still empty.

He opened up Nathan's bedside table drawer, and went through the contents.

When he didn't find anything, he dropped to the floor and looked under the bed, but didn't have enough time to really look.

"What are you doing?" Nathan said, walking into his bedroom.

**

* * *

**

**Oh that's right. CLIFFHANGER! **

**Teeeheeeheee.**

**Please read and review :)  
**


	28. Chapter 28

**This is a pretty crazy chapter. There is some nice Brucas though. After last Wednesday's episode I desperately needed some Brucas.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"Nathan, Tim told me everything. You can get help, just tell me where they are, and we can get you help." Lucas said, standing up and looking Nathan directly in the eye. 

"Where are what?"

"The painkillers. Please, just tell me where they are."

"Lucas…"

"Nathan, you can't do this to yourself. You need to get help."

"I'm not addicted to painkillers if that's what you're saying."

"Then why did you steal my bottle from the accident? Why are you buying them from Tim's brother? Don't lie to me, Nate."

"I still need them, I ran out." Nathan insisted.

"Nathan you've been taking way more than you need."

"Stop." Nathan pleaded.

"Nathan, I want to help you."

"Just leave me alone."

"Nathan."

"Just get out of my room." Nathan snapped.

"Not until you tell me where they are."

"How about I make you get out?" Nathan said, clenching his fist.

"Let's see, who would win that fight?" Lucas said, looking at Nathan's cast.

Nathan sent his fist towards Lucas' face, but Lucas was quicker and caught Nathan's fist with his hand. Nathan glared, but also felt a familiar pang of guilt when he saw a slight flash of fear and hurt in Lucas' eyes.

Lucas slowly lowered his hand and let go of Nathan's.

"I thought we were past this." Lucas said. He turned to leave.

"Lucas, wait." Nathan called after him, following him down the stairs.

"Look, you don't want my help? Fine. I have to go home now." Lucas said.

"Boys are you fighting?" Deb said, as she passed by the stairs.

"No, I was just saying goodbye."

"You sounded angry."

"Just upset about moving."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Lucas said, holding his hand out to Nathan, who stared for a moment.

Lucas raised his eyebrows and glanced at Deb.

Nathan took the hint, slapped hands with Lucas and gave him a quick hug.

"Please talk to somebody about this, if you won't talk to me." Lucas whispered in his ear.

"Good luck with your new house." Nathan said out loud.

"Bye." Lucas said in defeat, hugging Deb and going to find Dan.

* * *

"It won't be that bad. Hey at least you live closer to my apartment." Brooke said the next day. 

She and Lucas were in his brand new bedroom, unpacking his things.

"True, very true." Lucas smiled.

Brooke sat on the bed and watched Lucas as he unpacked his computer.

"Glad I invited you over to _help_." He teased.

Brooke laughed.

"Come here Lucas."

Lucas lay down beside her, and she put her head on his chest.

"Is it really that bad?"

"No… right? My mom's so happy, we are in a big house, with nice stuff, Andy is great…"

"You have a great car." Brooke said.

"Well I don't have that anymore." Lucas said.

"Oh…right…" Brooke said awkwardly.

"Wait a second…"

"I promised your mom I wouldn't tell." Brooke said, sitting up.

"Andy bought me a car, didn't he?" Lucas said.

"Maybe." Brooke grinned.

"You're kidding me." Lucas laughed.

"Nope." Brooke smiled, grabbing Lucas and kissing him. She caught him off balance, and they fell off the bed, laughing.

"Ouch."

"Sorry," Brooke laughed.

"Lucas?" Karen said, poking her head in the door.

"She pushed me." Lucas said.

"Liar!" Brooke laughed and swatted him.

"You two are so…sweet." Karen joked.

"Aren't we?" Brooke said.

"Okay Lucas, Andy and I have a surprise for you. Brooke, make sure he doesn't peek."

* * *

"Dan, you haven't gotten Lucas a new car have you?" Deb asked. 

"No, not yet. Why?"

"Because Karen just called me, all excited about the move and the fabulous new car Andy got for him."

"You're kidding." Dan sighed.

"It's a nice thing he did."

"His mom's boyfriend buying him a car, it's real fantastic Deb."

"They're getting married, Dan."

"Whatever. What kind of car?"

"A black BMW."

Dan rolled his eyes.

Deb laughed softly and went to go make dinner.

* * *

"Okay, open your eyes." Karen said. 

"My eyes are open. Brooke move your hands." Lucas laughed.

Brooke giggled and moved her hands from his eyes to around his waist.

"Oh my God, Andy." Lucas said, looking at the shiny new black car just a few feet away.

"I hope you like black. And BMWs." Andy said, tossing him the keys.

"It's amazing." Lucas said, opening the door and sitting inside.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Thank you…so much. I can't believe it."

"You're welcome."

"Okay, boyfriend. Time to take me somewhere fabulous. If that's okay." Brooke said, looking at Karen and Andy.

"Just be home by eleven." Karen said.

"Thanks so much." Lucas said.

"Have fun." Andy said, putting his arm around Karen and walking inside.

"This is insane." Lucas said, running his hand over the dashboard.

"It's a great car."

"I know, I love it."

"Where are you escorting me then?"

"I don't know." Lucas laughed.

Jake and Peyton were sitting on his porch. Jake was playing guitar while Peyton held Jenny.

Lucas pulled up in front of the house, and he and Brooke got out.

"Dude! When did you get that?" Jake said, setting down the guitar and checking out Lucas' car.

"Andy gave it to me, my mom and I moved into his house today."

"Damn." Jake said.

"Very nice." Peyton agreed.

Jake and Lucas began talking excitedly about all the features of the car. Brooke and Peyton rolled their eyes, went back to the porch and played with Jenny.

"Boys." Peyton laughed.

"Yeah, he's so excited about it though. I think he's finally warming up to the idea of Andy and his mom getting married."

"I thought he was excited before."

"I think he was more excited about the idea of it at first, but the changes that came with it kind of shocked him a little."

"Probably." Peyton agreed.

"This is so cool man." Jake said.

"Yeah, it is."

"Does your Dad know?"

"No…he's gonna hate Andy even more."

"Probably."

Lucas sighed.

"It'll be fine."

"Yeah." Lucas said.

* * *

Lucas sat in the library, reading a book, just like he had everyday that past week. He had a free period, which he usually spent with Nathan, but he and Nathan weren't on the best terms. 

He jumped a little when someone stuck a bottle of Gatorade in front of his face.

"What's this?"

"Peace offering." Nathan said, sitting down across from him.

"It's pink." Lucas said, taking a sip.

"Yes it is. Look, I'm really sorry for how I acted Saturday. I let my anger and fear get the best of me."

"I'm sorry too. I could've come to you in a better way about your problem instead of ransacking your room and yelling at you."

"Yeah…"

"So are we good?"

"We're good. About to be better, even. My cast is coming off finally."

"That's great."

"Now we can put this stupid car accident behind us."

"Nathan, have you told them?" Lucas asked.

"No. Not yet. I will. Soon."

"Define soon."

"As in…I don't know…"

"Nathan, come on."

"Lucas, you're not helping. You may think you are, but you're not."

"I'm just looking out for you." Lucas said, grabbing his backpack and leaving.

Once he got outside, he got into his car and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello?" Dan answered.

"Dad?"

"Lucas, why aren't you in school?"

"It's a free period." Lucas said shakily.

"What's wrong, son?"

"I need you to go upstairs to Nathan's room. Somewhere, I don't know where, there's got to be a baggie or a bottle of painkillers."

"From the accident." Dan said in confusion.

"No, Tim said that he bought some from a guy at the pharmacy, and he also took my bottle from the accident."

"Lucas, this is a very serious accusation. I hope you know what you're talking about."

"Dad, please. I wouldn't make this up. I think he has a problem."

"Okay, I don't think you would. I'm on my way over to the school so he can get his cast removed."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

"Not now. I will look for them after I bring him back to school. I think we should all be there to support him if it turns out you're right."

"Okay. Thank you Dad."

"You're welcome. I'm at the school. Where are you?"

"Here." Lucas called, waving to Dan.

Dan hung up his phone and came over to Lucas.

"So this is the car." Dan observed.

"Yup."

"It's nice."

"It is."

"Okay, well I should go get Nathan, enjoy your free period."

"Thanks. For everything." Lucas said, heading back to the library.

* * *

He got to his usual lunch table before most of his friends because he had the free period, so he set his backpack down and looked through it for his book. 

He found it and stood up to find Nathan standing there.

"You have to stop doing that." He laughed nervously, putting his hand on his chest.

Nathan didn't reply.

"Uh…so how's your arm feeling?"

"Great. Especially since I need to do this." Nathan said, punching Lucas.

Lucas staggered back a few steps.

"What the hell, Nathan?"

"You told him, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie." Nathan said, pushing Lucas against a pole.

"Why don't you explain to me what you're talking about." Lucas said, shoving Nathan off him.

"You told him about the pills. I know you did, I saw you talking to him in the parking lot. He seemed a little weird at the doctor's and then he was in a hurry to drop me off."

"So? He has to work Nathan." Lucas said quickly.

"You're such a bad liar."

"You're right. I did tell him, okay? He needed to know." Lucas said, glancing off to where kids were finally coming outside for lunch.

"You stupid bastard!" Nathan yelled, tackling Lucas to the ground.

Lucas shoved Nathan off of him as he watched Brooke run inside, presumably to get a teacher.

"What's the matter Luke? Too afraid I'll kick your scrawny ass?" Nathan said, standing up.

"I don't want to get in a fight at school in my senior year and get suspended." Lucas snapped.

Nathan didn't respond, but tried to punch Lucas again. Lucas finally had enough and punched him first.

Nathan lunged for Lucas again, but was pulled away by a teacher, and Lucas felt someone pulling on him too.

"What the hell is going on?" Jake asked, gripping Lucas tight.

"Why don't you ask Lucas? Oh wait no, he'll just lie to your face." Nathan said.

"Shut up Nathan." Lucas said quietly.

"What was that?" Nathan said, trying to break out of the teacher's grasp as Whitey approached.

"I said shut up." Lucas said louder. He was shaking in Jake's grasp.

"Luke, calm down." Jake said quietly.

"Oh yeah, don't want to get your heart rate up." Nathan said.

"That's enough Nathan." Whitey yelled.

Lucas sighed.

"You two, follow me to the principal's office." Whitey said firmly. He took hold of Lucas' arm and Nathan followed behind.

"Sit." The principal said.

Nathan and Lucas sat as far away from each other as possible.

"I already called your father. He had to do something, so he'll be here soon. Now do either of you want to tell me what happened?"

"Lucas went behind my back about something and I got mad. That's it." Nathan said simply.

The principal looked at Lucas.

"It needed to be done. I had to tell him, Nathan." Lucas said directly to Nathan.

"Whatever. Now he knows and you won't have to deal with me." Nathan said darkly.

Half an hour later, Dan walked in the office, looked at his sons with their scraped up arms and bruised faces, and sighed.

"Starts to drive you crazy, eh Danny?" Whitey said dryly.

"Can I take them both home?" Dan said listlessly.

"I suppose, Mr. Scott. Just make sure that they deal with their issues before they come back to school Tuesday. Two day suspension."

Lucas sighed.

"Try not to kill each other." Dan walked out towards the parking lot.

"Dad…um…my car…" Lucas said quickly, not wanting to make the situation worse.

"Right. Uh, actually that would be better. Call your stepmom and tell her to come home, and then drive your car back."

"Okay." Lucas said, heading to his car.

"Does mom really need to come home?" Nathan asked.

"Well we could deal with you two fighting later, but I think the large supply of painkillers, yours and Lucas' empty bottles, and your bottle of alcohol that I found in your room needs immediate attention."

Nathan sighed and leaned back in his seat.

* * *

Deb picked up her ringing cellphone. 

"Sorry," She said to Karen. "Oh, it's Lucas."

"Lucas are you alright?"

"No, Dad wants you to come home, he's there with Nathan and I'm on my way too."

"What's going on? Why aren't you in school?"

"Nathan and I got suspended for fighting."

"What happened?"

"Nathan has a problem, and he got mad at me for telling Dad. Just please hurry. And don't tell my mom, yet." Lucas said as he got to the house and hung up.

Deb shut off her phone.

"Is he alright?" Karen asked in worry.

"It's Nathan, something's wrong, I need to go home."

"Yes, of course. Call if you need anything."

"Thanks." Deb said distractedly, and ran out of the café.

* * *

Dan and Nathan arrived at the house after several minutes of silence. 

"Son, I brought down your bag from the attic."

"You're sending me to rehab." Nathan said quietly.

"Nathan, I found a ton of pills in your room. You stole from your brother, and some patient didn't get their pills at the pharmacy because your _dealer _stole for you. You're sneaking alcohol, and you and your brother got into yet another fight at school."

"I know." Nathan sighed.

"I know you're strong, you can pull through this. You're getting help before it got a lot worse. You have me and your mom, and Lucas pulling for you."

"He must hate me by now."

"No he doesn't. He's just frustrated to see you slipping like this."

Nathan nodded.

"I'll go pack." He said, going upstairs.

* * *

"Lucas what's going on?" Deb asked, slamming her car door. Lucas was walking up to the house. 

"Last Saturday at the party, Tim told me that Nathan had been buying pills from his brother. I went upstairs, and my bottle of painkillers was missing."

"Oh my God." Deb said, tearing up.

"I confronted him, but it didn't go so well. We hadn't really been speaking all week, and today I finally called Dad from school, and Nathan figured out."

"That's when the fight happened."

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Deb, I should've handled this better."

"Lucas, you did the best you could."

She and Lucas walked into the living room, where Nathan came down and dropped his bag on the floor.

Deb walked up to Nathan and hugged him tight.

"It will be okay, I promise." She said.

* * *

"I'll be seeing you." Dan said, giving Nathan a hug as Deb got ready to take him to the clinic. 

"Yes you will." Nathan said.

Nathan reached out and gave Lucas an awkward hug, but once the reality of the situation set in, he held on tighter. Lucas held on tight too, not wanting to let go.

"I'm pulling for you." Lucas whispered in his ear.

Dan and Lucas stood on the porch, watching as Nathan stuck his bag in the backseat and Deb got in the driver's seat.

Nathan gave one glance back at Lucas and Dan.

"I love you Nate!" Lucas yelled.

Nathan couldn't hear him, and tilted his head in confusion.

"He said he loves you." Deb said.

Nathan lowered his head and smiled, then shouted it back.

Lucas smiled.

Deb started the car, and Lucas and Dan watched as the car disappeared down the street.

"He'll be okay." Dan assured him.

"I know." Lucas said, his voice breaking.

Dan rubbed his son's back as Lucas held back tears.

* * *

Deb took a deep breath and held back her own tears. 

Nathan sat back in his seat and watched the scenery go by.

He squeezed his eyes shut and felt hot tears sliding down his cheeks.

**

* * *

**

**Extra long chappie for y'all!**

**BTW, I wrote a One-Shot called "A Stronger Man" that centers around Dan. It doesn't fit in with this story or anything, but y'all should check it out :) **


	29. Chapter 29

**I apologize for the delay. School is extremely time consuming. **

**Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate it. This chapter is Lucas centric, but the next chapter will definitely be focused on Nathan.**

* * *

Lucas took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.

"I'm so sorry about all this. Keeping it from you and Deb, and for fighting with Nathan. I handled this so badly."

"It's okay, the important thing right now is Nathan getting better." Dan said.

"He will."

"Of course he will."

"Of course." Lucas said absently.

"Do you want to talk about this?" Dan asked.

"Maybe later…I just want to go clear my head."

"Okay…but this weekend don't make any plans. A two day suspension is pretty serious."

"I won't. I'm sorry." Lucas said before walking away in a daze.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Deb asked.

"As I'll ever be." Nathan replied.

"Just remember, you have a huge support system, and we're all here for you."

"I know. Thanks."

"I'm extremely proud of you for doing this."

"Thanks Mom."

Deb held her son tightly for a few moments, before finally letting him go.

* * *

Lucas jogged along the streets of Tree Hill. He couldn't believe it. Nathan had started off the school year with plans for college, basketball, moving on, and it all fell apart so quickly.

Thinking about this drove him crazy, so he broke into a run, ignoring the tightening in his chest and ran to the Rivercourt.

When he got there, he ran down to the edge of the river and stopped. Taking deep breaths, he sat down on the picnic table and stared out at the river.

He sat there for a while, but eventually he stood up and walked around town. He glanced at his watch. School had been out for a while, and he knew that his friends would be asking a lot of questions, so he walked in the opposite direction.

"Lucas." He heard as he jogged towards his dad's house. He ignored the call, and instead sped up and ran as fast as he could.

* * *

"What's he doing?" Peyton wondered as she watched him sprint away.

"He shouldn't be doing that." Jake said, upset. "Okay, go find Brooke, I need to go after him. Meet us at the Rivercourt."

"Okay." Peyton said as Jake sped off after Lucas.

"Luke!" He called, chasing after Lucas.

Eventually Lucas slowed down, his medication made it hard for him to run anyway. Jake caught up to him and put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Lucas turned to face Jake. He had a slight flush on his cheeks from working himself so hard, and he was shaking.

"You need to sit down." Jake said, leading Lucas to the picnic table at the Rivercourt.

"Jake, I really screwed up." Lucas said finally, sitting down and taking deep breaths.

"What's been going on? All this week you and Nathan have been cold towards each other, that is when you were even speaking, and then at lunch you two are going at it."

"He's on his way to rehab."

"What?"

"He got addicted to painkillers, he's been stealing mine and bought some off of Tim's brother."

"Wow…Jeez, Luke…I had no idea. What happened?"

"I confronted him after the party Saturday and he tried to fight with me then, but today I told my dad. I guess Nate figured it out when Dad took him to the doctor's because of the way he was acting, and then before everyone came out for lunch he hit me, and eventually I hit back. God, I can't believe this is happening."

"It's going to be okay." Jake tried to reassure him.

"What is wrong with me? I should've told my dad and Deb the second I found out. Hell, I should have noticed that my little brother was abusing drugs. He's been so depressed lately, since Homecoming, and I didn't do anything to help him."

"Lucas you couldn't have known. You have to calm down though. The way you were shaking this afternoon, and the way you were pushing yourself just a few minutes ago isn't good. You're going to make yourself sick over this."

"But this is the kind of thing a older brother protects his younger brother from! I'm supposed to be there for him, and I had no idea he was in that much pain."

"You did the best you could with this situation, the important thing is that he's getting help."

"He was so excited for the school year to start, and now it's been falling apart for him." Lucas said sadly.

"Lucas!" Brooke called running down the hill. Peyton followed her.

Brooke rushed over and hugged Lucas tightly. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"What's been going on with you and Nathan?"

"He's going to rehab for painkiller addiction." Jake said, relieving Lucas of having to say it out loud again.

"What?" Brooke and Peyton gasped at the same time. Brooke pulled away from Lucas and took both his hands in hers.

"He's been hurting lately, he's still pretty broken up about Haley, he started taking those painkillers, and he couldn't stop." Lucas said quietly.

"Oh Lucas…" Brooke said.

"He'll be okay." Lucas said half-heartedly.

"You got to believe that, man. He will." Jake said.

"I know…look, I'm really sorry…I just don't really feel like talking right now. I'll see you later."

"Call me later if you need to talk." Brooke said, giving Lucas a quick kiss.

"I will." Lucas said, walking away.

* * *

Lucas walked into Andy's house and was surprised to hear his father's voice from the kitchen.

"Dad?"

"Hi, son. I came to talk to your mom…about Nathan." Dan said. He and Karen were seated at the table, both looking uncomfortable.

"I'm so sorry, Lucas." Karen said.

"I should be heading home. Deb will be returning soon. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas." Dan said.

"Bye."

"Oh honey, do you want to talk about it?" Karen asked once Dan left.

"No…I just…no." He said, going up to his bedroom.

* * *

Later that night, he heard Andy and Karen arguing. He quietly moved down the hallway and listened in on their conversation.

"…Karen this is the last straw for Dan. This is exactly what we need."

"Believe me, I want to, but its not what _he_ wants, Andy."

"Karen, don't you see? Nathan going to rehab is just another reason for us to show to a judge that he is an unfit parent."

"Andy, that is not entirely fair. Nathan is getting help really early on, it could have been a lot worse, and he did an excellent job of hiding it. He and Lucas are extremely close, and he didn't even have any idea of what was going on."

"I understand, Karen, but why we aren't calling my lawyer right now and telling him to go ahead with the custody case? We have more than enough proof to get full custody of Lucas."

"I just can't imagine blind siding him with a custody battle right now."

"You know this is what's best for him, though."

"I suppose…"

"He'll thank us one day for getting him away from his father."

Lucas clenched his fists, livid. How could Andy do this to him? How could his _mom_ do this to him?

"You know what Andy?" He said loudly, walking into the room. "You might be right. Maybe my dad hasn't always been the best parent. He definitely hasn't. But he's really trying now, and Nathan's addiction is breaking his heart."

"Lucas…" Karen said softly.

"And you? How can you be doing this to me? My little brother is in _rehab_, and you are trying to take me away from him when he needs me the most?"

"Lucas, please. It's what's best." Andy said.

"Shut up, Andy." Lucas said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Karen gasped.

"I'm sorry Mom. But Andy, this isn't really any of your business."

"I'm going to be your stepfather, Lucas."

"Right. So you're not my father, you can't make decisions like this for me."

"Lucas, we're thinking of your best interests here. Dan may be really trying to change, but the truth is-"

"The truth is you hate him!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Personal feelings aside…he's an unfit parent."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know when a father keeps a heart condition from a kid's mother, and his other son is in rehab, that the father shouldn't be taking care of those kids. I know how much you care about Nathan, but being in an unhealthy environment isn't going to help either one of you. Dan just isn't fit to be a father to you two."

"Wow. I never imagined you'd sink so low as to go through a custody battle out of _spite._"

"Lucas, that's enough." Karen said firmly.

"You're right. It is. I'm going to his house, I need to be there."

"Lucas, wait." Andy said.

"If you go through with this custody battle Mom, I swear to God I will pick him over you." Lucas said, and then he ran out of the house.

He got to Dan's house and used his key to let himself in.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" Dan asked. He and Deb were in the living room. Deb was still a little red eyed from crying.

"I couldn't stay there for another minute. Andy wants to use Nathan as a reason to for he and my mom to get full custody."

Dan and Deb were speechless.

* * *

Nathan sat in a circle with a bunch of strangers. He was an annoyingly well-lit room, at his first group therapy meeting.

He listened as other people shared their stories, about how they needed some kind of drugs or alcohol to get through their day, and how it affected their families. One man was talking about how he would constantly yell at his wife and kids and leave them alone for days, going on a drinking binge.

Suddenly, he felt a little better about coming to rehab. He was getting help before it got so bad that he was intentionally hurting everyone he loved.

All he had to do was break this addiction, and he could go home. He just wanted to go home.

"Alright, how about you go next, Nathan?" The leader said, taking Nathan out of his thoughts.

"Oh…um…"

"Don't be shy, Nathan. We're all here for you."

"Okay." He said, standing up.

"Just tell us about yourself."

He looked around at all the unfamiliar faces and swallowed hard.

"Um…my name is Nathan. I'm 17, and over the past month I've been using painkillers from a car accident my brother and I were in a lot more than I needed to. I'd been going through some stuff and it just made me feel better. You see it all started when…"

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit on the short side.**

**Please read and review!  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**Lucas and Brooke are back together! –does a happy dance- **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy. **

* * *

"…I don't know what to tell you Karen. All I know that is I have a really hurt and angry kid who needs me right now, and something you did drove him to come here tonight." Dan said coldly over the phone a few minutes after Lucas arrived.

"Dan, please, let me talk to him." Karen pleaded.

"Lucas, do you want to talk to your mom?" Dan asked, covering the mouthpiece.

Lucas shook his head.

"Karen, he doesn't feel like talking right now, and neither do I. How about I take him to work with me tomorrow and just let him process everything that's been going on."

"Dan please…"

"Do you really want to push the issue right now?"

"Fine. Andy and I need to talk about this anyway."

"You do that." Dan said, hanging up on her.

Lucas was sitting at the kitchen island with his head buried in his arms.

"I think it is definitely time to call it a night." Dan declared.

"Absolutely." Deb agreed.

Lucas sat up.

"I'll go in a minute."

"Don't stay up too late." Deb said.

"Yeah, you're coming with me to the dealership tomorrow." Dan said.

"Alright."

"Night, Lucas." Deb said, kissing the top of his head.

"Night, son." Dan said.

"Good night…" Lucas said.

Lucas walked up to his bedroom and leaned against his doorway, staring into Nathan's empty room.

It was like it usually was, bed unmade, CDs and DVDs scattered all over the floor, video game controllers sitting on top of two green beanbag chairs.

He went into his room, and then into his bathroom. He sighed, realizing that in his rush to leave, he forgot to pack stuff he needed, like his HCM medication. He slammed his medicine cabinet shut and got into bed, where he stared at the ceiling for a long time.

* * *

Nathan was wide awake, sitting up in his bed. His room in rehab wasn't bad or anything, but it wasn't home.

He tilted his head back so it was against the wall. It was coming back, he could feel it. All the pain from the past few months.

It was amazing how much he had managed to numb for so long.

He really wished he could just get up and go talk to Lucas. He would shake him awake, Lucas would whine for a few minutes, and then they would talk until they both fell asleep. Then Lucas would complain about it more in the morning. Nathan smiled to himself.

Nathan swallowed hard, trying not to lose it. He calmed himself down and sighed.

"First night is always the hardest." Kyle, his roommate, said quietly.

"I'm in actual physical pain." Nathan said hollowly.

"Withdrawal is a bitch. Sorry kid, you're probably not going to be sleeping well for awhile."

"Is there any way to deal with it? Because I really want some pills. Like, now."

"Well that's the point of rehab." Kyle said.

"I know…"

"Miss home already?"

"I missed home the second I pulled up here. There just so much that I messed up on, especially with my brother. I can't stand being here knowing that he's mad at me."

"I'm sure he just wants you to get better."

"I know he does. He told me before I left. He hugged me, and told me he loved me. Why would he do that?"

"Because…he loves you?" Kyle said.

"But still."

"No buts." Kyle said firmly.

Nathan smiled weakly and shifted his knee, which felt a little sore.

"I'm sorry if this is annoying you. I would have gone to Lucas' room by now and talked to him about it."

"At three in the morning?"

"Yeah, well it's our bonding time."

"How old is he?"

"Seventeen. Three months older than me."

"…We have different moms." Nathan said after a pause.

"I gathered. So you're close?"

"He's my best friend. Which is funny because I used to despise him."

"Wow."

"We got into a fight before I came here. He told our dad about my problem, and I got so pissed off at him, I just punched him."

"Guessing by that black eye you're sporting, he hit back."

"Yeah, he's scrawny, but he sure can throw a punch."

"Lovely."

"So how about you?"

"Well I have a wife at home, who is praying I get over my alcoholism, and I have a brother too, but we're not that close."

"Are you going home soon?"

"I hope so. I don't think about drinking anymore, but I just want to be sure. I have to be sure."

"That's good."

"Look, I know this is less than encouraging, but you plan to be here for what? Several weeks?"

"I want to be home as soon as possible."

"It's going to be rough."

"Yeah." Nathan sighed.

"Now I don't know how much longer I'll be here, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Group therapy can be kind of intimidating."

"Just a little."

"You did well though, most people don't open up that much. Especially the first time."

"I haven't been talking about my problems much, so it seemed easier to open up to strangers."

"True." Kyle agreed.

"I'm sorry, I'm keeping you awake."

"Don't worry about it. Its better than listening to you tossing and turning all night."

Nathan sighed and shifted some more.

* * *

The next day, Dan sat at his desk, filling out paperwork. He saw his head mechanic walking past his office, so he got up and followed him.

"How's it going, Chris?" He asked.

"Good, Mr. Scott."

"Good…" Dan said awkwardly.

"Your boy's doing okay. Helping us out is taking his mind off things." Chris said knowingly.

"Really? He's feeling better?"

"Somewhat. He fixed Nathan's tape deck. Got so frustrated he slammed his fist against the dash and the tape that was jammed just flew out. " Chris chuckled.

Dan laughed. Chris smiled, he wasn't used to his boss being pleasant. Not that he minded.

"Why only somewhat?"

"Seems a little tired and doesn't look like he's feeling well."

"Where is he?"

"Finishing up on the exterior of Nathan's car."

"Okay. Thanks." Dan said, going to find Lucas.

"Looks great." Dan said loudly, causing Lucas to jump.

Lucas stood up. Dan saw what Chris had been talking about.

"Yeah…I fixed the tape deck."

"I heard."

"Yeah, so now I'm just…fixing…other cars." Lucas said absently.

"Do you want to go home? Because you don't look so good."

"What do you mean?"

"You're obviously tired."

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Thinking about Nathan?"

"That, and I left my medicine at my mom's."

"Lucas, you should have told me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was important."

"Okay, we're going home now." Dan said, taking Lucas out to the car.

"Wait what about Nate's…"

"You can come get it later."

They headed home and Lucas was asleep by the time they got there. Dan reached over and felt his forehead, Lucas definitely was sick. He shook Lucas awake and they went into the house.

"Deb?" Dan called.

"In here." She responded from the kitchen. She left Karen a message saying that she needed to take the day off.

Lucas walked in and sat at the island. He then rested his head in his arms.

"Lucas honey are you okay?" Deb asked, going over to him and feeling his forehead.

"He did not get any sleep last night, did not take his medication, and is running a fever."

"Oh Lucas…"

"I just need some sleep..." Lucas mumbled. He walked upstairs.

Dan sighed.

"He's not doing so well." Deb said sadly.

"He's probably still reeling a bit from all this."

"We all are."

"Yeah. I'll be home early. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, right now I have a sick stepson to take care of." Deb said with a small smile.

"Okay. Be back soon." Dan said, kissing her and hurrying back to his car.

* * *

Nathan woke up the next morning feeling awful. He barely slept and everything seemed to hurt.

"Rough night?" Kyle said gently.

"Yeah." Nathan mumbled.

"Look there's no magic cure to make you feel better-"

"Sure there is. There's Percocet, Oxycontin…"

"Nathan. You know what I meant."

"Yeah…"

"Why don't you call your family?"

"Not in the mood."

"Okay. But you're going to have to talk them sometime."

"I can wait."

"Alright…" Kyle said, leaving the room.

Nathan inspected his face in the mirror. He looked like hell. His hair was all tousled, his eyes were red and there were dark circles underneath them.

He sighed and sat back down on his bed. Then he punched his pillow before picking up the phone.

* * *

Lucas had slept through the rest of the afternoon and stayed in his room all night. The next morning he was on the Internet, trying to find more information about painkiller addiction and the rehab process.

Deb came upstairs and softly knocked on his door.

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks." Lucas said.

"Okay, well I have to go to work. Your dad is already gone."

"Is it going to be weird?"

"What?"

"Going to work with my mom."

"Definitely won't be the most fun day at work I've ever had…but Karen is my friend and I would like to hear her side of the story as well."

"I guess…"

"We'll work it out. I don't want our little arrangement to change." Deb said.

"Me either."

"Have a good day." Deb said, closing the door.

A few minutes later, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

Silence. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Hello?" Lucas repeated.

"…Hey." Nathan said quietly.

**

* * *

**

**Minor cliffhanger. Teeheehee.**

**Coming up…angst! It will be oh so fun.**

**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think!**


	31. Chapter 31

**This has some angst for both our boys, but there is also some cuteness. Oh, how I love the angst and the cuteness.**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You guys are the best.**

* * *

"Hey buddy." Lucas said quietly, trying to hide his excitement. 

"Hey."

"Um…how are you?"

"How do you think? I'm in withdrawal." Nathan said sullenly.

"Sorry, stupid question. Hey, your mom is on her way to work I can probably catch her…"

"Don't bother, I only have a few minutes."

"Oh…okay."

"I don't really know why I called…"

"I'm glad you did."

"I can't do this, it's too hard."

"Nate, come on. You definitely can get through this."

"Oh, shut up. It's your damn fault I'm here in the first place. I was fine and if you had just minded your own business I would still be at home." Nathan snapped.

Lucas inhaled sharply, trying to keep himself calm.

"You needed help-"

"It's your fault I feel like this."

"What?"

"If you hadn't made me go to Homecoming, we wouldn't have gotten into the car accident and none of this would've happened."

"Nathan-"

"Just forget it. I have to go."

"Fine. Bye." Lucas said, shocked. He hung up.

"Wait…Luke…" Nathan said quickly as the dial tone sounded in his ear.

* * *

Deb unlocked the café and started making coffee. She wasn't looking forward to working with Karen. 

Karen walked up to the café and slowly opened the door.

"Good morning Deb…"

"Karen." Deb said simply.

Karen turned the sign to "Closed" and walked behind the counter.

"How's Nathan doing?"

"Why? Need some more evidence for your case?"

"Deb, please, Andy just wanted what was best for Lucas and he got carried away."

"And you let him!"

"I'm so sorry Deb. We're not going through with the case."

"Is that supposed to make it better? Because forget how you made Dan and I feel, using Nathan as an excuse to start a lawsuit we'll get to that later, but what about Lucas?"

"I never meant for it to get so out of control. But Andy, you know how he feels about Dan, and he just wants to be a good father figure for Lucas. He's still learning, Deb, and I'm sorry I didn't stop him."

Deb sighed.

"I don't know Karen, this is just such a big betrayal, it's exactly what I don't need right now."

"I'm so sorry Deb…"

"We all need to talk about this."

"You, me and Dan?"

"And Andy…and Lucas. We can't make decisions like that for him."

"I know."

"He and Nathan love each other so much, I can't imagine separating them."

Karen sighed.

"I know. You're right."

* * *

Lucas walked into Tim's house, where Tim was throwing a party. Technically he was supposed to be grounded, but Deb and Dan decided he needed to get out of the house. 

He got there early and didn't feel much like talking, so he went straight for the keg and filled his cup with beer.

"Lucas." Tim called, coming over to him.

"Nice party." Lucas said dully.

"Look, I just want to apologize, about Nathan. You know he's my best friend, and I seriously thought your dad was just working him hard."

"He doesn't do that anymore."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." Lucas sighed.

"We just have grown apart lately, I just wanted to do something for him." Tim said sadly.

Lucas nodded. Tim may be a goof, but he really tried to be a good friend.

"I understand. But you might want to be talking to Nathan about this, not me."

"You're probably right." Tim said, clapping him on the shoulder and walking away towards some cheerleaders.

Lucas sighed and downed the rest of his drink as Theresa came up to him.

"How are you Lucas?"

"I'm fine…" Lucas said in confusion.

"I heard about Nathan. We've been hanging out some more this year, like at Homecoming and your dad's party. I just wanted to know how he's doing."

"Oh. Yeah, he's doing as well as can be expected I guess. He'll be back in a few weeks."

"You miss him don't you?" Theresa asked.

Lucas paused. This was an awkward conversation.

"I'm making you uncomfortable aren't I?"

"Um…"

"It's okay. I just wanted you to know we're all pulling for Nathan." She said, indicating the guys from the team and all the cheerleaders.

"I'll tell him that." Lucas said.

"Great." Theresa said. She smiled and waved as she walked away.

Lucas stared after her for a minute and then refilled his drink. Standing by himself again, he finished another cup of beer when he saw Brooke come into Tim's house.

"Hey baby." Lucas greeted Brooke, who walked up with Peyton and Jake.

"Hey." She said, giving him a kiss.

"Hey Jake, Peyton." He said.

"Lucas…have you been drinking?" Brooke asked, noticing the empty cup in Lucas' hand and where he was standing.

"Just a little."

"Baby come on, I know you're upset about Nathan-" Brooke said, leading Lucas outside, taking him to the beach nearby.

"So what? I should be. He blames me…for being there. And he's right, I made him go to the dance, we got into a car crash and now he's in rehab, addicted to painkillers." Lucas said, sinking down onto the sand.

"Lucas, it's not your fault…" Brooke said, sitting down next to him.

"But what if it is?"

"It's not." Brooke insisted.

"I can't deal with this…" Lucas said, holding back tears.

"I'm here for you, anything you need." Brooke said

"I can't believe this is happening." He said, a few tears slipping out. Brooke took her thumb and wiped them away and gently stroked his hair.

"Shh…it's going to be okay."

"I'm sorry…I kind of ruined the party for you."

"Don't worry about it. I rather be with you."

"Even like this?" Lucas laughed.

"Good or bad." Brooke smiled.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me…Brooke…I love you…" Lucas said quietly.

Brooke's eyes filled with tears. Lucas widened his eyes in alarm.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you mean it?" She asked through her tears.

"Of course. I'm not just saying that because of what's happening with Nathan, Brooke. You have this amazing way of making me laugh, when I want to cry. You've been there for me through tough times…and I love you…pretty girl…" He said, smiling as he wiped away her tears.

"I love you too, Lucas." Brooke said, hugging him.

"Everything's going to be okay." She assured him.

"I hope so. I just want him here…I want everything to be good again."

"It will be."

* * *

Lucas got home, feeling a lot better. 

"Hi honey, did you have fun?" Deb asked.

"Yeah…it was good…to get out." Lucas said, trying to hide that he had done some drinking.

"I talked to your mom today."

"Oh…right…"

"Lucas, she feels terrible. I am still upset over the whole thing, but I sort of see where she's coming from. It doesn't reflect well on your father and me…this whole thing…" Deb said sadly.

"All that matters is that Nathan and I know that you two are good parents. Which you are, I know you're both trying. This is just a bad time, a rough patch."

"Thank you Lucas."

"Absolutely."

"So do you think you'll want to talk with her and Andy sometime soon?"

"I don't know…I mean…what they were planning to do…"

"That's why we all should talk. You, me, your father, your mom, and Andy. It will be okay."

"That's what I keep hearing…" Lucas sighed.

* * *

Nathan was staring at the ceiling with the phone in his hand. He had been like this off and on for hours, debating whether or not to call Lucas. 

Kyle came in and watched Nathan for a minute.

"Okay so who did you call and how bad was it?" He asked.

"How do you know?"

"Kid, you are doing the exact same things that I did when I came here. I called my wife and blamed my alcoholism on everything but myself."

"You're right… I am doing the same things. I called my brother this morning…"

"And you've been sitting here all day?"

"Pretty much. I told him it was all his fault, to mind his own damn business next time."

"Sounds familiar."

"I know it's wrong…but I just want to…put this on someone else…I want to piss him off…I want him to-"

"To stop caring." Kyle said.

"Dude, you're gonna have to stop that. Now it's just freaky."

"Nathan, look, I did everything I could to push my wife away when I got here. I figured I didn't deserve to be treated well, and that if I pushed her away, I could just get out of here sooner."

"Exactly…but that's crazy." Nathan said slowly.

"Call him. He loves you, that isn't going to change."

"It could. It's not like we were exactly friends for the first 16 years of our lives. That's what scares me, we moved into this really good relationship so easily, what if it's just as easy to go back to being enemies?"

"Well that's why you need to make things right."

"But…"

"Just do it." Kyle said firmly.

"Yes sir." Nathan said, smiling a little.

Nathan's fingers where shaking as he dialed the number, hoping Lucas would answer.

Luckily for him, he did.

"Hello?"

"Hey…please don't hang up." Nathan said quickly.

"Nathan…look I'm really sorry-"

"No. Just shut up."

"What?" Lucas said in disbelief.

"Sorry. It's not your fault. I was just lashing out on you because I don't want to be here and…"

"And what…"

"And I don't understand why you're sticking by me."

"Because you're my brother, Nate."

"We've been so horrible to each other in the past and then today I was just…scared. I don't want us to stop being brothers."

"We won't."

"But with us…it's just so…"

"Listen buddy, screw what happened in the past. I've seen you at your worst and I've seen you at your best, and I'm still here for you, you can't drive me away. This whole brother thing, I'm in it for the long haul, aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. That's not going to change, ever. So you just focus on getting better, then when you get home I can yell at you for being a moron, and then we can move on."

"Sounds good." Nathan said, sniffing.

"Are you crying?" Lucas said teasingly.

"Shut up." Nathan laughed.

"Alright, alright."

"So…how are you?"

"Had a crappy day, pretty good night."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Well I finally got to have a real conversation with you, and Brooke and I…"

"Gross. No details."

"What?"

"About you and Brooke."

"I just told her I loved her, smart one."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Lucas laughed.

"I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks…I guess I should go. You better haul your ass up here sometime soon and come see me."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

"And call."

"I will." Lucas said. "I promise." He added before Nathan could say anything.

"Good. Okay, love you."

"Love you too little brother." Lucas said, hanging up.

Nathan put the phone back and smiled.

After a few minutes, Kyle came back in.

"How'd it go?"

"You were right."

"I always am. You'll learn that soon enough." Kyle joked.

"Nice."

"Okay, I am turning in."

"Me too."

"Think you'll sleep better tonight?"

"I think so." Nathan said, turning out the light.

**

* * *

**

**Aww.**

**So I'm thinking probably one more chapter with Nathan in rehab, because, well, I've had the scene where he comes home written for weeks, and I wanna share it soon!  
**

**Thanks for reading, please leave a review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I suck I suck I suck. So sorry for the lack of updates!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter, hope y'all like this one.**

* * *

_Nathan was lying on the ground. It was raining, and he was lying in a puddle._

_He groaned and rubbed at his face, which was smeared with dirt and was bruised._

_He yelled when he felt another blow across his face._

_"And that's for all those times you called me a bastard, and for when you showed that video of Dad and my mom at the dance, and when you blamed Haley leaving town on me…" Lucas yelled, continuing to pummel him._

_"Lucas, Lucas, stop." Nathan pleaded, finally sitting up and grabbing Lucas' fists._

_He looked at his brother. Rain was pouring down his face, mixing in with the tears and dirt on his cheeks._

_"Luke…" Nathan said, grabbing his shoulders._

_"I hate you." Lucas said quietly, pulling back sharply._

_"No you don't. Please…don't say that."_

_"I hate you!" Lucas said again._

_"Stop. Please." Nathan pleaded._

_Nathan looked up and saw people approaching; all yelling about the ways he had hurt them. His mom, his dad, Haley, Peyton, Whitey, Tim, his friends, and a bunch of people he barely remembered all were marching towards him._

_He looked at Lucas, who was now just staring dully at the ground._

_"Luke…please…come on…I'm sorry. I'm sorry…everyone." Nathan said, backing away._

_He moved faster as the shouts grew louder and thunder roared above him._

Nathan woke up gasping for air and fell out of his bed.

He looked up to see if he had woken up Kyle, who was silent. He untangled himself from his bedspread and went to get some water.

* * *

"Okay, have a good day at school, meet us at the café after." Deb said to Lucas as she dropped him off at school. 

"Okay…"

"Then you can go pick up your car."

Lucas sighed.

"It'll be fine."

"Everyone's going to be talking about Nate…"

"That's the beauty of small towns…it'll be fine."

"Okay. See you." Lucas said, getting out of the car.

"Hey man." Jake said.

"Hey…"

"How's everything?"

"Uh…better. Trying to get by."

"If you need anything…"

"Thanks man." Lucas nodded.

"Alright, I have to go to the library. See you at lunch?"

"Definitely."

"I better not have to pull you out of any fights again."

"Not planning on it." Lucas laughed.

He headed towards his locker, but turned abruptly when he saw Whitey at the other end of the hall.

* * *

Lucas flipped open his notebook, waiting for class to start. Groups of people in the back were whispering loudly. 

"He's a total wreck, he was completely hooked on all these drugs, he's going to be in rehab for a long time. I bet he won't make it back for graduation. Did you see the fight with him and Lucas?"

"Yeah, Lucas is completely messed up too."

"He's just lucky that his parents didn't bust him too. That's why he and Nathan were fighting each other."

"So Nathan took the fall for him?"

"Apparently."

"That family is so messed up. Especially now that Lucas and Nathan are closer than ever."

"Did you see Lucas at Tim's party?"

"Yeah, he was completely wasted."

Lucas sighed and watched the clock intently, willing it to be time for class to begin.

* * *

"Scott!" Whitey called at the end of the day. 

Lucas froze and slowly turned around.

"Yes Coach?"

"Can I have a word?"

"Can it wait? I have to go see my mom."

"Fine. But not for too long."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Lucas said quickly, turning to leave.

"Lucas."

Lucas turned around and sighed.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He muttered, leaving quickly.

* * *

Nathan sat outside, staring into space. 

"So, any more nightmares?" Kyle said, walking up and sitting down next to him.

"Huh?"

"Last night, you seemed freaked."

"How the hell…"

"Just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I'm not deaf. You fell out of your bed, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Kind of hard to miss, kid."

"Everyone was screaming at me, everything I've done in the past..."

"Sounds like your regrets are coming back to you."

"Definitely. I don't know what to do."

"Well here in rehab...we make ammends."

Nathan sighed and stared at nothing again.

* * *

"Hey Lucas." Andy said cautiously as Lucas entered the café and sat at the counter. 

"Hey…"

"So…how was…school?"

"Sucky." Lucas said dully.

"I'm sorry." Andy said.

Lucas sighed.

"Look, really Lucas, I'm really sorry about everything. It was completely ridiculous of me to try and get custody of you using Nathan."

"Or trying to get sole custody of me at all."

"You're right. I kind of fell into this really complicated situation, I'm new at this. I've never been a father before, especially not to a teenager. And to make it even more complex, I have to learn to deal with another set of parents and their own parenting style."

"So you thought if you and mom were the only ones in control…"

"It would be easier. But that's stupid of me. I'm sorry, Lucas. Your mom was fighting me every step of the way. Don't be mad at her. Blame me."

"Look, Andy. I get what you're saying. I really do."

"You do?"

"Look, this whole thing with Nathan has been insane. But do you promise me that you dropped the lawsuit?"

"Yes. I give you my word."

"Thank you." Lucas said, as Deb and Karen approached, Dan following behind them.

Karen glanced at Lucas uncertainly. Lucas half smiled and gave her a hug.

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. We're good." Lucas said.

"Really?"

"Well…soon." Lucas said.

* * *

After a few more days of waking up from the same nightmare, Nathan decided to call Lucas. 

"Hey there." Lucas answered.

"Hey, now that it's the weekend, haul your scrawny ass up here. Please."

"But of course."

"Seriously?" Nathan said anxiously.

"Yeah." Lucas said, laughing.

"When are you coming?"

"I'll see you in a few hours, little brother."

"Great." Nathan said, sighing in relief.

Lucas hung up and went downstairs to find Karen. They were talking, and it was nice, but Lucas couldn't help but still feel angry towards her and Andy.

"Mom…I'm going to see Nathan." Lucas said quickly, grabbing his wallet.

"With Dan and Deb?"

"No…they're going up sometime tomorrow. I might tag along…"

"I bet he misses you."

"I miss him too. Well, I'll be seeing him soon enough."

"Okay, well have fun. Send him our love."

"I will." Lucas said.

* * *

Lucas walked around uncertainly, looking for Nathan. 

He jumped a little when Nathan ran up and grabbed him.

"There you are."

"Finally." Nathan said, burying his head into Lucas' shoulder.

"Missed me?"

"You have no idea." Nathan said pulling away.

"I missed you too. It's been crazy."

"I bet…so you're not mad?"

"About what?"

"Everything…"

"I can't say that I'm not…but it doesn't matter right now."

"Really? Because it's been driving me crazy."

"You just focus on getting better, then we can work it all out."

"Okay." Nathan said, smiling.

"Hey buddy, I have something for you." Lucas said, pulling something out of his pocket.

Nathan inspected the cassette tape.

"Are you mocking me about my car?"

"No I just got so frustrated with your piece of crap that I beat the thing out."

"You didn't." Nathan said in disbelief.

"Ask Dad." Lucas grinned.

"That's awesome, man."

"By the way, your crappy car? Not so crappy anymore."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"No problem."

"So, how are things in Tree Hill?"

"Among the vicious rumors, I have a whole list of people sending their best wishes."

"Like who?"

"My mom, Andy, Brooke, Jake, Peyton, Theresa." Lucas said, counting on his fingers.

"She's so hot." Nathan interrupted.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Theresa."

"Oh. I guess."

"We've been hanging out. Homecoming, the basketball party."

"You interested in her?"

"Maybe…I kind of blew it though."

"How?"

"Um, Lucas, think of where we are right now."

"Oh come on, you're getting better."

"Yeah but still. It doesn't exactly help me out."

"Well if she likes you then it won't matter about some mistake you made."

"Hi this is my boyfriend Nathan. He just out of rehab." Nathan said in a high pitched voice.

Lucas cracked up.

"So Luke, what's going on for Thanksgiving?"

"Um…well I'll be at my mom's, and I'm heading to Dad's later."

"Good. I don't want them to be alone…you know…"

"They won't be."

"They're coming up tomorrow, are you coming along?"

"Maybe." Lucas said.

"Only maybe?"

"Brooke wants to add to my wardrobe."

"Haha."

"Oh shut up."

"She owns you, man."

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Okay let's be grown ups here." Nathan said.

Lucas smiled.

"If not tomorrow, come back soon."

"Every weekend until you're home."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Lucas said, holding out his fist.

Nathan pounded Lucas' fist.

Lucas stood up and stretched.

"I hate to go…but I kind of have to."

Nathan sighed.

"Are you sure nothings bothering you Nate?" Lucas asked.

"Um…nah…it's okay. Just you know…it sucks…being here."

"Right." Lucas said, nodding.

"See you soon?"

"Of course." Lucas said, slapping hands with him.

Watching Lucas leaving, Nathan sat back on the bench and sighed. He wished he had told Lucas about his nightmares, because he had a feeling they weren't going to stop anytime soon.

* * *

**Okay, this is a bit of a transition chapter. Next chapter, people are going to stop glossing over issues and deal with their problems. Sounds fun, yes? **

**Please review:) **


	33. Chapter 33

**Stupid midterms. Stupid research papers. Stupid school.**

**Sorry this chapter took so long. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you all keep me going! **

**Hope y'all enjoy it. **

* * *

"Whatcha got there?" Jake asked, sitting down next to Lucas at lunch.

"Andy gave me 50 free iTunes."

"Nice. What's the occassion?"

"I guess he's still trying to make up for the whole custody fiasco."

"Ah. Aren't you all okay now?"

"I guess...Andy just doesn't get that buying me stuff isn't going to make me like him any better. I already like him a lot, and I'm glad he and my mom are getting married. I don't know, I guess I should tell him again that we're okay?"

"Absolutely, make sure he knows that you are okay with everything. Okay so...50 free songs. You'll need guidance, this is a big gift you've been given here..."

"Would you like to come over and help me pick out songs?" Lucas asked, smiling.

"Well I suppose I could spare some time after school." Jake said.

"Gee, thanks. You've got practice though don't you?"

"Yeah but it's short. Game tonight."

"Just drop by my dad's whenever."

"Okay. So...tonight...would you want to come to the game? I know you would probably rather do anything else right now, it's just that the team misses you, and it would be fun...and plus, our girlfriends will be cheering, which is always great." Jake said quickly.

Lucas was silent for a moment.

"Look, you don't have to." Jake said

"No it's fine. Yeah, I'll come."

"Great. I'll see you around 4:00 then."

"Sounds good."

"Later." Jake called as the bell rang.

As Lucas was heading to his English class, he felt someone hook their arm through his.

"Well if it isn't my MIA best friend." Haley said.

"Hey Hales. MIA?"

"I feel like we haven't talked in forever, despite the fact that we go to the same school, have many of the same classes, including the one we're going to now, and oh yeah! I just moved to the same apartment complex as your girlfriend!"

"You did? Where the hell was I?" Lucas asked.

"That's what I want to know."

"I'm sorry...I suck. It's just, you know, a lot's been going on."

"Yes I do. And that's what I'm here for."

"I didn't know how much you wanted to hear about Nathan...I mean you guys haven't exactly been talking."

"Look, Lucas, it's bad what Nathan and I are going through, but we'll work it out. I am going to talk to him when he gets home, no matter what."

"Good."

"So anyways, this weekend, major catching up time?"

"Definitely." Lucas agreed as they got to the classroom.

* * *

Nathan got out the cab and stared at the house in front of him. He had only been gone a few weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. He swallowed hard, thinking about the nightmares he'd been having for the past few weeks, hoping that he could work everything out with his family and friends.

He slowly walked up to his front door and let himself in.

He could hear his parents in the kitchen, so he went to the doorway and called out "Mom! I'm home!"

"Oh my God!" Deb shrieked excitedly, running over to Nathan and hugging him tight.

"Missed me?" Nathan grinned.

"Oh honey, I'm so proud of you." Deb said.

"Thanks." Nathan said.

"Welcome home son." Dan said, giving Nathan a hug too.

"Thank you."

Nathan sighed with relief, knowing that the stuff he saw in his dreams wouldn't come to pass. He could still make everything okay.

"Why didn't you call or something? We could've picked you up." Deb said.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well you definitely succeeded." Deb said.

Nathan stood there, surveying the house, smiling widely.

"Your brother is upstairs with Jake, in case you were wondering." Dan said knowingly.

"Great." Nathan grinned.

"He's going to be so excited to see you." Deb said.

"We all have to go out tomorrow night to celebrate." Dan said, smiling.

"Definitely." Nathan said.

He stood there for a moment, smiling.

"Go see your brother." Deb said.

Nathan smiled excitedly and ran upstairs.

He knocked on Lucas' door, feeling both excited and a little nervous. He could hear the new Yellowcard song blasting from his room.

"Come in." Lucas called.

Nathan threw open the door and smiled. Jake turned around first from the computer and dropped his jaw. Then he grabbed Lucas by the shoulder and turned him around.

"Ouch! Jake you are so..." Lucas trailed off once he saw Nathan.

"...impatient." He finished almost inaudibly.

"Okay your face right now was almost worth the last few crappy weeks." Nathan said.

"Welcome back, man." Jake said, slapping hands with Nathan and giving him a quick hug.

"Thanks Jake."

Lucas was still sitting and staring, wide eyed.

Nathan was about to say something when Lucas stood up and slowly approached him, his face still blank. Then his face broke into a megawatt smile and he jumped on Nathan, catching him off balance, and they both fell on the ground, laughing and hugging.

"Busted out, did ya Nate?"

"Yup. I checked out this afternoon."

"I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Congratulations, Nate. Alright, I better get going. I'll see you two later, you still coming tonight Lucas?" Jake said.

"Like I promised."

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"I told Luke he should come to the game tonight. You should too. You probably couldn't play, but the team would be psyched to see you."

"Definitely." Nathan replied.

"Great. See you tonight then. Bye."

"Bye Jake." Lucas said.

"See ya, man." Nathan nodded.

Jake left, and Lucas stood up, holding out his hand to help Nathan up. Nathan grabbed it and jumped up.

"This is amazing." Lucas said, smiling.

"I know. Sometimes I felt like I would never get out of there, that I would never stop wanting those stupid painkillers."

"But you got through it. Just like I knew you would."

"I'm done with it."

"Good for you."

"Thanks. So is it just me or are you even scrawnier than before?"

"Shut up." Lucas grinned.

"Seriously man."

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Havent had a whole lot of time to do weights. Did play basketball though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. With Kyle, my roomate. I told you about him."

"Do you think I'll ever meet him?"

"Definitely."

"You look tired." Lucas observed.

"Yeah...I've been having trouble sleeping. I've been meaning to talk to you about that..."

"So I was right." Lucas said slowly.

"Huh?"

"When I first visited you, you seemed out of it. I asked you if something was wrong, but you said you were fine."

"Yeah, I know, it's just that-"

"What happened Nate? What changed so much that you can't talk to me about the important things anymore?"

"Whoa, relax." Nathan said.

"Relax? This is exactly what got you into rehab in the first place. Because you couldn't talk to

me about stuff that was bothering you. Me! I'm supposed to be your best friend,Nathan. Why can't you talk to me about the important stuff?"

"Okay... we're doing this now." Nathan sighed.

"Yeah, we are. We've put this off too long."

"Look...I'm sorry. After the accident, I just felt horrible. I felt horrible about Haley, about my

knee injury, about getting you involved in the accident after you were so happy with Brooke...I just wanted to forget it all."

"Nathan, I know it was an accident. You don't have to feel guilty about making a mistake. Is

that why you didn't tell me how you were feeling?"

"Mostly...and I knew you had your own problems."

"Oh come on." Lucas sighed.

"You hadn't told your mom about the HCM yet, you were still working stuff out with Brooke, and I don't know..."

"Just because I have stuff going on in my life doesn't mean I don't care about yours."

"I'm really sorry, okay? I just didn't know what to do. I kind of just kept to myself..."

"Until I pushed you over the edge..." Lucas mumbled.

"Yeah. Look, I know we had our moment and everything right before I left, and we've been talking since, but I...our fight...that was..."

"Bad." Lucas finished for him.

"I said the crappiest things to you."

"I know. But I kept fighting too. I kept punching you too. I'm sorry Nate, I just was so frustrated with you, doing that to yourself."

"Still...that crack about your heart rate...calling you a bastard..."

"Yeah...you kind of sucked that day." Lucas said with a weak smile.

"Yeah." Nathan laughed.

"Look, we both did. We learned from it, and we moved past it."

"Are we past it?"

"That's what I've been wondering..."

"I think we can be. Starting today. I'm out of rehab, we can work it all out."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"So...nightmares?" Lucas said, sitting down on the floor, leaning against his bed.

"Yeah. Pretty creepy." Nathan said, sitting beside him.

"Like ax murderer hacking away at you creepy?"

"No. And also, you have a sick imagination."

Lucas grinned at him.

"So basically, it's raining...pouring down rain, I'm in the mud and you're beating the crap out of me, yelling in my face every crappy thing I've ever said or done to you."

"Wow..."

"It gets better. Then you keep saying that you hate me over and over, and all these people come over to I assume repeat what you were doing."

"Sheesh. I'm sorry, Nathan. Wait, so you only see me doing the whole beatdown thing?"

"Yeah...but I can hear what other people are saying."

"I'm so sorry. You know I don't hate you though." Lucas said, putting his arm around Nathan and rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah...it just weirded me out. Because it's all true. What everyone said."

"Look, it may have been. You've made some bad decisions, said some horrible stuff, but that doesn't mean you aren't a better person now. You just have to make-"

"Amends. Yes, I know." Nathan finished for him.

"But we're good." Lucas assured him.

"Are we?"

"Yeah."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I wuv you widdle brother." Lucas said in a baby voice, trying to hug Nathan.

"Dork." Nathan laughed, moving out of the way.

"That's not very nice."

"Yeah, well."

"I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

Whitey quickly instructed his team as the game was about to begin. Jake was grinning widely, not exactly listening to the coach.

"Jagielski, what's got you so happy?" Whitey asked.

Jake just smiled and jerked his head toward the bleachers.

Whitey searched the crowd and saw two teenaged boys sitting together, laughing and talking like the world around them didn't exist.

"Well I'll be..." Whitey murmured.

"Nathan!" Tim shouted.

Nathan stopped in the middle of his sentence and waved to his friend.

"Don't suck alright?" Nathan called as he made his way down to the team along with Lucas.

Tim laughed.

"I'll be back!" Nathan said, smiling.

"I expect you in my gym next week. You've got work to do, boy." Whitey said.

"I know." Nathan nodded.

"Maybe now that you're home, your brother will look me in the eye finally."

Lucas swallowed hard, but luckily he was interupted.

"Nathan!" Peyton called over, running up to him with Brooke.

"Welcome back!" They exclaimed, each giving him a hug.

"Thanks." He said.

"When did you get here?" Brooke asked.

"This afternoon."

"Good to have you back." Peyton said as she went to join the squad.

Brooke hung back for a moment and glanced at Lucas who was smiling.

"Have fun out there." Lucas said.

Brooke grabbed him and gave him a quick, passionate kiss.

"Wow." Lucas said.

"You bet your ass that was a 'wow' kiss." Brooke grinned as she ran to the squad.

Lucas laughed to himself. Then he realized the game was about to start.

"Okay, uncover your eyes Nate. Time to watch the game." Lucas said.

Nathan cracked up and followed Lucas to the bleachers.

* * *

Lucas came home from his date with Brooke andwent into his bedroom and changed for bed. Then he tiptoed across the hall to Nathan's room.

"Nate?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" Nathan said, turning over.

"Just wanted to check in on you. I'm going to bed."

"Oh. Okay. How was your date with Brooke?"

"Great. How was Tim's party?"

"It was alright. It was good to see everyone again, even though I have the feeling that as soon as I turned my back, they were talking about me."

"Um...yeah, there were some pretty ugly rumors around school."

"Gotta love Tree Hill."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah...maybe...I'm not sure..."

Lucas sat down on Nathan's bed.

"They just don't get it." Lucas said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"They have no idea what really happened, they have no idea how hard you worked, they just want something to gossip about."

"Yeah...screw them."

"That's the spirit." Lucas grinned.

Nathan laughed and layed on his back.

"I missed this room. All my stuff."

"Yeah, I bet."

"I see nobody cleaned it."

"I wasn't about to go through all the crap you throw on the floor. It's like a minefield in here."

"Yeah I don't know, this past summer I stopped caring about it being neat."

"Lazy."

"Yeah. Do you care if I put on the TV? I haven't seen anything for like a month."

"Sure." Lucas said.

They sat there watching some late night movie on Comedy Central. After awhile Lucas saw that Nathan had fallen asleep, so Lucas reached over him, grabbed the remote and turned it off.

"Night little brother." He whispered, and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Nathan woke up early, and smiled at the sight of the familiar bedroom around him. He was so excited to be back.

He rolled over and saw Lucas, sleeping on his stomach, his head turned away from Nathan.

"Lucas."

No response.

"Lucas Lucas Lucas." He said, bouncing up and down.

"What?" Lucas whined.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you?" Nathan grinned.

Lucas sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Enjoy your few weeks of having a full night of sleep?" Nathan grinned.

"Yup."

"Okay, so do you want to go to the cafe? We can eat and hang out with Jake."

"Sounds good. What else are you doing today?"

"Catching up with Tim, and tonight we're all going out to dinner."

"Great. I'm going to go see Haley."

Nathan sighed.

"I guess we'll have to talk at some point."

"Yeah, she's pretty determined."

"She always is." Nathan grinned.

"Yeah. Alright, I'll go get ready and then we can go."

Nathan got up and pulled out clothes from his dresser.

Lucas walked into his own bedroom to get dressed.

"Hey, have you seen my black hoodie?" Nathan called out after a few minutes.

Lucas looked down. He was wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie.

"I think I'm wearing it." He called back.

"Dude, we're not sisters."

"It was in my dresser!" Lucas protested.

"Uh huh." Nathan said sarcastically.

Lucas was about to respond, when he felt a sharp pain in his left arm.

"Not...now..." He said weakly, slowly sinking to his knees and leaning against his wall, taking sharp breaths.

"Hey Luke, stop primping and lets go...Lucas!" Nathan said, running to Lucas.

"Get...Dad..." Lucas said almost inaudibly.

"Dad!" Nathan hollered.

"What's wrong?" Dan said, poking his head in the door and stopping dead in his tracks when he saw :Lucas and Nathan.

"Call an ambulance." Nathan said weakly.

Dan ran and called the ambulance.

"They're coming son...just hold on..." Dan said softly.

Sirens came closer and closer to the house as Lucas lost consciousness in Nathan's grasp.

* * *

Nathan sat in the waiting room by himself, clutching the black hoodie that the paramedics pulled off Lucas in the ambulance.

He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and scrolled through the numbers until he found Brooke's.

"Nathan, do you know what time it is?" Brooke grumbled.

"No." He said shakily.

"Nate...what's wrong?" Brooke asked, sensing the tone of his voice.

"Lucas had a heart attack. We're at the hospital." He said hollowly.

"Is he going to be okay? What happened?" Brooke asked tearfully.

"I don't know, we just got here. My parents are with the doctors, I'm just... sitting here." He said, feeling useless.

"I'll be right there."

"Great. Can you call Jake and Peyton?"

"Sure. What about Karen?"

"They're on their way."

"Okay. See you soon. Hang in there, Nate."

"I'm trying."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Brooke said, hanging up.

Nathan flipped his phone shut, his hands still shaking.

He decided there was nothing he could do, but wait. But he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that just wouldn't go away.

**

* * *

Okay...so I kind of lied about the whole issues thing. But at least Nathan and Lucas worked theirs out...right? Right! Okay, so I suck. My apologies, I changed this chapter around a lot.**

**Next chapter, definitely some waiting room drama between all our lovely inhabitants of Tree Hill. Definitely. I promise, y'all.**

**Please read and review! **


	34. Chapter 34

"Nathan!" Karen called, running up to him.

Nathan stood up as she and Andy approached.

"How is he? What happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know what happened. We were just getting ready to come to the cafe, and we were talking to each other across the hall, and suddenly he stopped responding to me. So I go into his room and he was..." Nathan trailed off and tried to calm himself down.

"It's okay sweetie. We'll just go find your parents, and I'll come back and fill you in as soon as possible."

"Okay." Nathan said.

"We'll be back." Andy promised as he and Karen walked away.

Nathan sat back down and tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"Nathan." Brooke said breathlessly, sitting down next to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Karen and Andy just went to find my parents and the doctors."

"Oh. So no news yet?" Brooke said, sniffling.

"No. Sorry." Nathan mumbled.

Brooke was silent.

"I don't know what happened." He said, his voice strained.

"It's okay. He'll be okay." Brooke said, dissolving into tears.

"Brooke!" Peyton called. She ran up to where they were sitting and tried to comfort her best friend.

Jake followed, putting his hand on Nathan's shoulder and trying to calm him down.

"He's just a kid, Jake. He was fine this morning, and then suddenly he just...shut down. This isn't supposed to happen, he's been taking medication, he's been so careful..."

Jake sighed, knowing that wasn't exactly true.

"Listen, Nathan. He's strong, he'll pull through."

"I couldn't handle it...if he..." Nathan said quietly.

"He's not." Peyton said firmly.

Haley came up cautiously to the group.

"Hi...how is he?" She asked nobody in particular.

Nathan just stared at his shoes. He was so not in the mood to deal with this all.

"We don't know yet." Jake said gently.

"Oh. Okay...well do any of you need anything? Coffee?"

"I could use some." Brooke said.

"Okay. Anyone else?"

"I'll come with you." Peyton said.

"Me too. You okay Nathan?" Jake asked.

Nathan nodded sullenly, not lifting his head.

"We'll be back." Peyton promised.

As soon as they were gone, Nathan lifted his head and stared at Brooke in disbelief.

"I had to, Nate. They're best friends."

Nathan sighed.

"I know. But this is the last thing I need to deal with right now."

"Well I don't think right now is the best time for you two to discuss your marriage anyways." Brooke said.

"Probably not."

* * *

Eventually, Andy, Karen, Deb and Dan all returned to the waiting room, looking distracted.

"How is he?" Brooke and Nathan asked in unison.

"Oh sweetie, they have no idea yet. They're running tests...we just have to wait." Deb said sadly.

Nathan sensed something was very wrong.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling us something?"

Deb glanced worriedly at Dan.

"Son, it was pretty bad. He's young, so he has a good chance of recovery, but...we lost him for a few seconds." Dan said quietly.

"What? How do you know?" Brooke said, starting to lose it.

"The doctor told us, he's running some tests now. Lucas is stable. We should be able to see him soon." Karen said.

"All of us?" Brooke asked.

"I think only immediate family is going to be allowed for right now." Karen replied gently.

"Oh." Brooke whispered.

Dan noticed that Nathan had bent his head, so nobody could see his face.

"Nathan?" He said gently.

Nathan didn't respond, but his shoulders were shaking. Dan pulled him close as Nathan sobbed into his shoulder.

"Shh...he'll be okay. He'll be fine. Just you wait. He'll be up and talking in no time." Dan said quietly.

Karen watched the exchange silently, touched.

As soon as Nathan calmed down, he took a deep breath and pulled out his cellphone again.

"I have to call Tim...excuse me." He said, embarassed.

He walked outside and sat on one of the cold benches, leaning against the wall. Then he scrolled through his phonebook and found Tim's number.

"Sup Nate?" Tim answered his phone.

"Hey...I can't make it today."

"What's wrong?"

"Lucas is in the hospital. He had a heart attack."

"Serious?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why it happened." He said dully.

"Oh man...wow. Do you want...do you want me to come?"

Nathan sighed and smiled for the first time in a while.

"That would be great."

Within a few minutes, Tim had arrived and he and Nathan were off alone in the corner of the waiting room, talking.

* * *

Brooke was hunched over in her seat, writing a note to Lucas for either his parents or Nathan to give to him, since she probably wouldn't be allowed to see him.

_Dear Lucas,_

_The doctors said that only immediate family would be able to visit you at first, but I couldn't wait that long to tell you that I love you, and I am waiting right out here until I can see you in person. You sure scared me boy, but I am praying for you. Imagine that, huh? You mean so much to me. Just remember that I will be right here when you wake up, and I will be seeing you very soon. I'll definitely be at your house with you when you get home to take good care of you. Hopefully the doctors will let me see you soon. Feel better, baby. I love you. _

_Brooke xoxo_

She reread what she wrote, trying to blot out the tear stains.

"Hey." A soft voice said beside her.

Haley put her arm around Brooke.

"Hey Haley...how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay...I'm just really worried about Lucas."

"Me too."

"I just feel like we've grown apart lately, and now this happens..."

"He'll be so happy to see you, TutorGirl. Hell, I've missed you. Once Lucas gets better, we all need to start hanging out again."

"Definitely." Haley smiled.

* * *

"Deb, Lucas has been taking his medication when he is at your house, right?" Karen asked.

"Of course." Dan answered for her.

"I was just asking. I want to make sure the doctor would know everything so he can help my son." Karen said stiffly.

"Our son." Dan corrected her.

"Trust me, Karen. We make sure he takes care of himself. There was only one time that he missed his medication, and that was weeks ago." Deb assured her.

"What? Why didn't you make him take it?" Karen asked.

"It was the night...with the whole...custody thing." Deb said.

"Oh." Karen said, feeling guilty.

"Yeah. He kind of ran over to our house without packing anything." Dan said.

Karen glared at him.

"I'm just saying." Dan shrugged.

"Now's not the time." Andy said.

"Don't bother." Dan snapped.

"Please, let's remain calm. Let's just wait for the doctor." Deb said exasperatedly.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked, walking up with Tim."

"Nothing." Dan said.

"What custody thing?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, it's not important now." Deb said.

"Yes it is. Look, Nathan...awhile ago Andy and I began talking to a lawyer about our options. We wanted to find out a way to get back full custody of Lucas." Karen admitted.

Nathan swallowed, taking it all in.

"Nathan, we're really sorry. It's all over now." Karen said quickly.

"When?" He asked simply.

"What?"

"When. When did you start all this?"

"After the car accident."

"Of course." Nathan sighed. He turned and went back outside without a word.

"Great." Dan sighed.

"I had to tell him, Dan." Karen insisted.

"Well as usual Karen, your timing is impeccable."

"What was I supposed to do Dan?"

"How about waiting until we're _not _in the hospital waiting room, waiting to see if our son is okay? His older brother had a heart attack at 17 years old."

Everyone was silent until Tim's cell phone rang.

"Hey...oh, damn. Is he totally tweaked? I'm at the hospital with Nathan...Lucas had a heart attack. I don't know...yeah, Jake's here too. Yeah will you tell him that? Thanks. Later." Tim said, hanging up.

"Who was that?" Jake asked.

"Whitey."

Jake flinched, remembering he had practice.

"It should be okay." Tim said.

"We should go talk to Whitey." Jake said.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, tell Lucas that I'll be back soon. But I've got to take Jenny now, my parents can't watch her today..." Jake said.

"I'll help you." Peyton said.

"Come back soon, P Saywer." Brooke said, knowing how Peyton felt about hospitals.

"Absolutely." Peyton promised.

Nathan passed them on his way back inside, and quickly said goodbye.

After they left, Nathan pulled Lucas' iPod out of his sweatshirt and listened to it. He and Lucas may have some things in common, but their taste in music wasn't one of them. Still, it seemed comforting somehow listening to the bands that he had never heard of, it seemed like Lucas was there and was going to be okay.

He started listening music, and settled back against, trying to take his mind off everything.

"Nathan, your parents want to know if you're alright."Brooke said quietly, coming over to him.

"How nice." He mumbled.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm just perfect."

"You sure?"

"Brooke that last comment was dripping in sarcasm, in case you didn't notice. My brother is in the hospital, I just got of rehab, I just found out that Karen and Andy were planning some custody battle, and to top it all off, most of that crap is my fault."

"It is not."Brooke insisted.

"Rehab is my fault, the custody thing is my fault-"

"How is that your fault?"

"They started it after the car accident, which was my fault."

"Nathan, come on."

"No, Brooke! This is all screwed up and it's all my fault."

"You and Lucas, always blaming everything on yourself. Just accept the fact that sometimes bad things happen, it's _not_ your fault, and it _will _get better. You do not control everything that happens. Just please accept these things and let people in, let people help you for once!" Brooke ranted.

Nathan was stunned for a moment.

"Sorry. I'm just really stressed out." Brooke said sheepishly.

"It's okay." Nathan said.

Brooke smiled at him, and he burst out laughing.

"What?" She laughed.

"You're crazy, Brooke Davis."

"Most likely. So you're okay now?"

"Better than before." Nathan said.

"Good."

"Hey...would you mind if I could just sit here...by myself?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, sure." Brooke said.

"Thanks." He said, settling into his chair and tilting his head back.

_

* * *

Nathan walked into Lucas' room. It was dimly lit, and it felt a little chilly._

_Lucas was lying in bed, looking pale, weak, and thin. _

_"Hey." He said quietly. _

_"Hi." Nathan said, sitting down beside him and lacing his fingers through his. He squeezed Lucas' hand and smiled weakly. _

_"Nice room, huh?" Lucas said sarcastically. His hand felt cold in Nathan's grasp._

_"Yeah. Are you okay? Should I get like...a blanket or something?" Nathan said, feeling useless._

_"No, I don't need it."_

_"You sure?"_

_"Yeah, I'm sure. Listen Nate, can you do something for me?" _

_"Anything." _

_"Keep an eye on my mom. I know she has Andy, but-"_

_Nathan's heart sank, realizing where this was going. _

_"No...don't talk like that." He said, shaking his head and trying to smile encouragingly._

_"Nathan..." Lucas sighed._

_"No." Nathan insisted, his eyes filling with tears._

_"Please. Promise me." _

_"No!" Nathan almost shouted._

_"I need you to do this for me."_

_"You aren't going to die." Nathan insisted again._

_"You're going to drive me crazy, buddy." Lucas joked._

_Nathan laughed, letting the tears fall. _

_"Fine." He managed to choke out. _

_He and Lucas stared at each other, unsure of what to say next. _

_"Thank you. I love you, little brother. I love you so much." Lucas said finally, closing his eyes. His head slowly started to turn the other way, away from Nathan. His hand slipped out of Nathan's. _

_"No...Lucas...Lucas!" Nathan pleaded as a dull beep sounded._

_Nathan started shaking. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized it was someone else who was shaking him. _

"Nathan. Nathan sweetie?" Deb said, shaking Nathan from his dreams. He could hear the music still playing softly in the headphones.

"What? Where's Lucas?" He asked, alarmed. He ripped the headphones off of his ears and turned off the iPod.

"Calm down, it's okay, you were dreaming. Your brother is awake and really wants to see you." Deb said gently.

"Really? How is he?"

"Well only your Dad and Karen got to see him, but he told your Dad to tell you, and I quote 'get your ass in here', so go ahead."

"Do the doctors know if he...?"

"He is doing a lot better than they thought he would, considering all that happened. They say he should be as good as new in a few days."

Nathan smiled and took a deep breath.

"Okay." He said, getting up.

"Wait wait wait!" Brooke called.

"What?"

"Give this to him. If you don't I'll hunt you down."

"Okay I'll do that, only if you promise to lay off the caffeine."

"Go." She insisted, smiling.

He found Lucas' room, and was really happy to see that it was not some dark, cold room like in his dream.

"Finally." Lucas said weakly.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep."

"No problem."

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better."

"I'll bet." Nathan said, scooting closer.

Lucas pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"You look freaked. You okay?"

"Let's just say I had an even worse nightmare than the ones I had at rehab." Nathan said, squeezing his brother's hand tight.

"Are you okay?" Lucas said, studying his expression.

"I'm definitely okay now, knowing you're okay."

"Oh...well, good. Thanks."

"No problem." Nathan said.

Nathan remembered the piece of paper in his pocket, and handed it to Lucas.

"What's this?" Lucas asked.

"Note from Brooke. She's probably about ready to disguise herself as a candy striper just so she can see you."

Lucas laughed and read the note.

"By the way your girlfriend is nuts."

"Yeah I know." Lucas grinned.

He smiled to himself and folded it up again, thumbing the slightly wrinkled paper.

"Tell her that I love her too, and I can't wait until I can see her."

"Okay."

"You really seem shaky." Lucas said.

"Well, my brother _did_ just had a heart attack."

"Your dream...it was me, you know...wasn't it?"

"Yeah... but it's not going to happen. I won't let you. I won't let you give up on me." Nathan said firmly.

"Good to know."

* * *

Karen watched the brothers silently from the window. Dan approached her and followed her gaze into the room.

"It's nice isn't it?" He asked.

"It is." Karen admitted.

"Oh good, Mr. Scott, Ms. Roe." The doctor interrupted, walking up to them.

"Yes?" Karen asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you about your son. Now he will be fine, but I understand that he was in a car accident a few months ago?"

"Yes." Dan said.

"Okay, now there aren't any complications from that, but I have to tell you that even though Lucas is strong, that is a lot for anyone to take in such a short amount of time. I just want you to make sure he is extra careful from now on. Now, who is going to be taking him home?"

Dan glanced at Karen.

"We haven't worked it out yet." He said quickly.

"Fine. Just keep in mind that he really needs to keep up with his meds, he needs to not exert himself, and really get enough rest."

"Of course." Karen said.

"Anything else, doc?" Dan asked.

"Nope. I'll be back later to check on him."

"Thank you." They said as he walked away.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I think Lucas here should get some rest." The nurse said, poking her head in the door.

"Alright. Can I just have one more minute?" Nathan asked.

"One more minute." The nurse said, and left.

"Okay. Um, so, I will be here. Feel better." Nathan said.

"I will."

Nathan didn't want to overdo the affection, so he squeezed Lucas' hand again, and placed his other hand on top for a moment.

They both smiled at each other, not needing any spoken words.

"I'll be back later." Nathan promised, messing up Lucas' hair.

"How is he?" Brooke asked when Nathan returned.

"He's asleep. He's doing good...he's going to be okay."

Brooke smiled.

"You really love him don't you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Nathan smiled.

"Oh, that reminds me. He says he loves you and he can't wait to see you."

"Whenever that'll be." She muttered.

"Probably a few hours." Nathan said.

Sure enough, several hours later, the nurse came out and said Lucas was allowed visitors. Brooke jumped up happily and ran to see her boyfriend, who was still sound asleep.

Brooke watched Lucas as he slept, holding onto his hand loosely, and stroking his hair with the other hand. He looked so cute asleep, his hair was even more touseled than it usually was, and she thought he looked even more adorable than usual.

Slowly he opened his eyes and focused on her, blinking a few times.

"Hey cutie." She said, smiling.

"Hey." Lucas said, his face breaking into a wide smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. Did Nathan tell you my message?"

"Yep."

"Is he okay? He seemed pretty freaked out when I saw him earlier."

"Yeah, he just had a nightmare, and plus he was really worried about you."

"Okay. Good." Lucas smiled.

"So your mom says you can go home in a few days."

"Good. I hate hospitals. I've been here way too much this past year."

"Yeah." Brooke agreed.

"I'm so happy you're okay." Brooke said, choking up and leaning down to hug him.

Lucas hugged her back.

"It's going to be fine." He assured her.

"I was so scared...you're so young, I was so afraid." Brooke sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's fine, I'm going to be okay."

"Okay." Brooke sniffled.

"Yeah."

"Is this hurting you?" She asked.

"What?"

"Hugging."

"Oh. No." Lucas said, holding her closer.

She finally pulled back and smiled at him.

"You're adorable with that bedhead of yours."

"Nathan messed it up before he left earlier." Lucas laughed.

"He loves you so much. He was worried sick about you."

"I love him too, I missed him so much, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." Brooke nodded.

"Oh Lucas!" Jake said a sing song voice as he walked in.

"Hey man." Lucas said.

"I come bearing gifts. I got you three kinds of skittles from the vending machines."

"You know me so well. Thanks." Lucas smiled.

"No problem. So how long are you in for?

"A couple days."

"Ah, you get to miss the last few days of school before winter break."

"Yeah. Where is everyone else?"

"Nathan went to your house to get a bunch of your stuff, your parents are talking with the doctors, Peyton's with Jenny, and Haley is..."

"Right here." Haley said, coming in the room.

"Hey." Lucas smiled.

"Hey there." Haley smiled back.

"We'll just be outside." Brooke said, grabbing Jake by the arm and leading him outside.

"How are you feeling?" Haley asked quietly.

"Fantastic. Except, well, my chest kind of hurts." Lucas joked.

"Shut up. That's not funny." Haley said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I resent that. I'm extremely funny."

"No you're not."

"I am too."

"You're not, but I still love you anyway." Haley said, leaning down to hug him.

"Love you too, Hales." Lucas said.

"You're just a kid..." Haley said almost inaudibly.

"I know."

"I'm so glad you're alright."

"Me too."

Nathan came in and stopped short.

"Oh sorry, I can come back." He said, shifting the bag in his arms.

"No, I was just leaving." Haley said, getting up and squeezing Lucas' hand once before leaving.

"Sorry, did I totally ruin that moment?" Nathan asked quietly.

"No, it's okay. What's all this?"

"Clothes, two books that were on your desk so I assume you're reading them, and your HCM meds."

Lucas sighed and placed the bag on the floor.

"Thanks." He said listlessly.

"You okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah." Lucas said, nodding.

"Okay." Nathan said, not really believing him.

"I just...I hate it here."

"I know, me too."

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I quit the team. I gave it up, my dreams, my future. I took the medication, I stopped pushing myself, and here I am. Seventeen years old and recovering from a heart attack."

"It's screwed up."

"Now I just feel like...everything I do to prevent stuff like this from happening..."

"It's still worth it." Nathan said before Lucas could finish.

"Is it?"

"Of course it is." Nathan insisted.

"It's not working, Nate."

Nathan didn't know what to say.

Karen, Dan and Deb came in, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hi baby, how are you?" Karen asked.

"That's a loaded question." Nathan muttered under his breath.

Lucas laughed and smacked his arm lightly.

"What?" Karen asked.

"Nevermind. I'm doing okay." Lucas said.

"Okay, well I think Jake, Brooke, Peyton and Haley wanted to say their goodbyes. It's getting late." Deb said.

"Damn, Luke you're popular." Nathan grinned.

Lucas laughed. Karen, Deb, and Dan left to give Lucas and his friends some alone time.

Peyton and Jake came in for a quick hug and promised they would be back tomorrow.

"I'll bring more candy." Jake promised.

"Thank you." Lucas smiled.

"I'll be back tomorrow. I love you." Haley said.

"I love you too, Hales." Lucas said.

Brooke waited until the others had left, then covered Nathan's eyes with one hand and used the other hand to lean on the bed and kiss Lucas.

"Bye." Brooke whispered, and walked out of the room.

Nathan rolled his eyes and smiled at Lucas.

"Okay bro, so how are you feeling now?"

"Crappy."

"It'll get better."

"If you say so." Lucas said, leaning back in bed.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think! **


	35. Chapter 35

**Well. This week's episode was a doozy wasn't it? **

**I apologize for the long wait. The good news is I'm now done with the musical that was taking up most of my time. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! You all are wonderful. **

* * *

Sunday night came way too soon for Nathan. 

He and Lucas were sitting in the hospital, playing a basketball handheld video game. Lucas was still weak, but he felt better enough to be sitting up.

"Broody, you're not wearing the clothes I picked out for you." Brooke complained as she came in to say goodbye.

"While I'm sitting in the hospital, I'll stick with the t-shirt and sweatpants." Lucas said.

"Boys." Brooke sighed.

Lucas smiled and motioned for Brooke to come over.

"I guess you've got to go now, huh? School tomorrow…and everything…" He said sadly.

"Yeah, but the second it's over, I'll be here." Brooke promised.

"Thanks." He said quietly.

"Don't be sad." Brooke said, smiling weakly at him.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Okay, well get some rest. See you tomorrow." She said, giving him a quick kiss and leaving.

"You okay man?" Nathan asked a few minutes after she left.

"Just bummed."

"I can tell."

"I'll be fine."

"Nate, um, your mom and I are going to take you home now. School's tomorrow." Dan said quickly, standing in the doorway.

"Can we wait a few more minutes?"

"Five minutes." Dan said, and left.

"Okay, well I guess I've got to go too. I get to face the rest of Tree Hill tomorrow."

"Fun."

"Oh, sure." Nathan said sarcastically.

"You'll be fine. Just ignore anyone who gives you a hard time."

"Really?"

"Yes. I will just kick their ass later." Lucas grinned.

"Nice." Nathan laughed.

"Seriously though, ignore them."

"I will."

"Good."

"Okay, well I guess I'll find Dad…"

"Okay."

"I'll call you tomorrow when I have a break from classes."

"Good luck with practice."

"Thanks. Love you."

"You too, man."

Nathan patted him on the shoulder and left.

Lucas sat silently for a few minutes, staring out the window.

"Oh baby, I didn't realize you were all alone. I'm so sorry. Nathan and Brooke left?" Karen said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Lucas.

"Yeah, just a few minutes ago. Nate had to go home."

"Oh, I wanted to talk to Dan before he left. Did he say when he'd be coming back?"

"I didn't talk to him."

"Oh. Well I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Yup."

"How are you holding up?"

"I want to go home." Lucas said, his voice strained.

"I know…" Karen said gently. She motioned for him to move over so she could sit next to him.

Lucas smiled weakly and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I stopped pushing myself with basketball, and now I have to figure out a whole new future for myself after 17 years. Every single day I know Nathan and Jake are playing basketball, they still have a future with it. Meanwhile here I am, swallowing pills everyday just so I don't collapse when I exert myself even a little. I am careful, everyday. There's only been a few slip-ups, but not for a long time. And yet somehow I still end up here, in the hospital. How is that fair?"

"Its not." Karen said quietly, stroking his hair.

"When is it going to get better Mom?"

"I don't know. I wish I could tell you."

"Me too." Lucas said quietly.

Karen continued to sit there with him, until his even breathing indicated that he had fallen asleep in her arms.

* * *

"So how's school?" Lucas asked the next day. 

Nathan had gone off by himself during his lunch period to call Lucas, who was glad to hear from him.

"It's not as bad as I imagined, but people still don't bother to keep their voices down when they're talking about you"

"Yeah, I noticed that."

"I think my favorite rumor is the one where we have a whole drug operation going together."

Lucas chuckled.

"That's one of the crazier ones."

"This town, I swear." Nathan laughed.

"It's crazy."

"Okay, well I should get going." Nathan said slowly.

"Right."

"I'll be over right after school."

"Practice."

"Huh?"

"You have practice."

"I can skip it."

"No, you can't."

"This is more important."

"Go or I will kick your ass." Lucas laughed.

"Yes sir." Nathan laughed.

"I'll see you afterwards. You just get into practice again."

"I will. See you soon."

"Bye."

* * *

"Hey buddy." Haley smiled as she walked into the room. 

"Hey, you're here early."

"No actually it's just that I came straight from school."

"No tutoring?"

"I had someone cover for me. I wanted to see you."

"I'm glad you came." Lucas smiled.

"Me too. I know you've probably heard this question a million times-"

"I'm feeling fine, Hales. I just wanna get out of here." Lucas said, answering her unasked question.

"Tomorrow, right?" Haley smiled.

"Yeah."

"Moms or Dads?"

"I think my moms."

"Okay, I'll definitely stop by."

"I guess it would be kind of awkward if I was going home with my dad."

"Just a little bit."

"Talk to Nathan yet?"

"No, I just want things to calm down a bit."

"Don't wait too long, Hales."

"It's already been too long." Haley sighed.

* * *

"Alright Nathan, I just want you to know that I worked very hard for the administration to let you back on the team. Don't disappoint me." Whitey said firmly before practice. 

"I won't. I promise."

"Good." Whitey said, getting ready to start.

"Coach?"

"Yes, Nathan?"

"I'm sorry. I made a lot of stupid mistakes. I'm going to work extra hard now."

"I'm proud of you for working through all this."

"Thanks. I had a lot of support."

"I bet."

"Hey, what did you mean at the game?"

"What?"

"At the game, you said something about Lucas not looking you in the eye."

"Oh…well…I wanted to talk to him about everything, and he avoided me."

"Talk about me?"

"You, basketball. He's not always the cheeriest kid around, but he was definitely down these past few weeks."

"Yeah, that's what I've been hearing."

"Of course, at the game that was the happiest I've seen him in a long time."

"Yeah." Nathan smiled.

"How's he doing?"

"He's coming home sometime tomorrow I think."

"Good."

* * *

"How does it feel to be back?" Jake asked after practice. 

"Good, I got to talk to Whitey."

"That's good."

"I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Okay, well everybody has been alluding to Lucas being depressed while I was gone. Whitey was the first person to come right out and say it. What happened, Jake?"

Jake sighed and sat down on the bench. Nathan followed suit.

"That day, after the whole blow up…Peyton and I were walking home from school. We see Lucas, running, actually sprinting down the street. I called out to him, because I knew he shouldn't be doing that, but either he ignored me or didn't hear me. I figured he was too wrapped up to notice what was going on around him."

"What did you do?"

"I ran after him, but he had already stopped. This whole HCM thing…it's bad, Nate. He looked like he was going to pass out. I...I wondered if that's what he wanted for a little bit."

Nathan swallowed hard.

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, me, Brooke and Peyton all talked to him for a little bit, and then we all went home. I mean, he was understandably bummed for awhile and all, but nothing major."

"Okay." Nathan sighed.

"Look, Nathan, you don't need to feel guilty about all that. He was just blowing off steam. He just did it in a stupid way."

"I guess. I need to go talk to him." Nathan said.

"Okay."

"Thanks, Jake. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Say hi to him for me."

"No problem."

* * *

"Hey, what took you?" Lucas asked when Nathan walked in. 

"I talked with Whitey for a bit. Move over." He said, sitting next to Lucas.

"Something wrong?"

"Today I heard a lot of crazy things. These were all from people I barely knew, and there was no way they were telling the truth." Nathan said slowly.

"They're just bored with their own lives."

"That's not my point though. People I didn't trust were saying crazy things, but then people I do trust told me things that I'm also having a hard time believing."

"Nathan, you're confusing me."

"Luke…did you purposefully try to black out the day I left?"

Lucas bit his lip and looked away.

"Come on, look at me." Nathan said, making Lucas face him again.

"I don't know what I was really doing, I was just trying to forget everything that happened, and it felt good to just run…push myself again."

"But did you want to…"

"I don't know, Nate. No. I wasn't even trying to think about anything."

"You promise me?"

"Yeah. I was just miserable that day."

"I know…"

"Did that clear everything up?"

"I guess so."

"Okay. So how was practice?" Lucas said, desperate to change the subject.

"Whitey kicked our asses as usual."

"Sounds about right."

"Oh, Jake couldn't come by, but he told me to tell you he says hi."

"Uh huh." Lucas said dully.

"Look, they were just trying to help out when they told me all that."

"I didn't realize that I needed babysitters."

"Lucas, come on."

"I was upset. Understandably upset, but people have to turn everything I do into some big issue." He said angrily.

"They're not. They care about you, they just wanted to make sure you're alright."

Lucas turned and stared out the window again.

"I'm just…tired." He said almost inaudibly.

"I know. Tomorrow I'll come home right after practice and we can hang out."

"Alright…"

"You'll be out of here soon."

"Hopefully this will be it with the HCM problems." Lucas sighed.

"We'll just have to make sure it is." Nathan said firmly.

**

* * *

**

**Poor little depressed boys. **

**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! **


	36. Chapter 36

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**

Nathan walked up to Karen's house and tentaviely knocked on the door. He hadn't really spoken to her a whole lot since he found out about the custody battle.

Karen opened the door and froze when she saw who it was.

"Hi Nathan." Karen said shyly.

"Hi Karen."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good."

"You know, I understand why you would want to do a custody battle. But please…don't." Nathan said quietly.

"Oh Nathan, I'm not. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"Thank you. Lucas is upstairs in his room."

"Okay…I have no idea where that is." Nathan laughed.

"Oh that's right, you've never been here before."

"Yeah, but the house is really nice. Um…it's huge too." Nathan said.

"It was hard to find our way around at first, but you get used to it."

Nathan followed Karen as she went up the stairs and down a hallway.

"Honey, Nathan's here."

"Oh, hey." Lucas smiled. He got up from his bed and gave Nathan a quick hug.

"How are you doing?"

"Good, good."

"Have fun." Karen said, and headed out the door.

"Dude. This house is freaking amazing." Nathan grinned.

Lucas laughed.

"Seriously," Nathan said, walking toward the window. "This is your backyard, man. It's huge!"

"Yeah, it's crazy." Lucas said.

"Okay, so you're either extremely forgetful, or just a dumbass." Nathan said, sitting down and turning on Lucas' TV.

"What? Why?" Lucas said, sitting down at his computer.

"You didn't tell me you were coming to your mom's."

"Oh, whoops. Sorry." Lucas said, getting up and laying on his bed.

"No problem."

"Cookie?" Lucas asked, reaching under his bed and pulling out a package of Oreos.

"Absolutely."

"Here." Lucas handed him the package.

"Your mom would most likely kill you if she knew that you were getting cookie crumbs all over your room."

"Yes, she would. And that is why we're not telling her."

"Nice. So are you coming back to dad's on Friday?"

"Yeah."

"Is Dad picking you up or what?"

"No idea."

"Okay. Well…I'm playing this week…"

"That's great, Nate. You think that you're ready?"

"Definitely. Whitey has been working us hard."

"That's good."

"So, do you want to come? I mean I know it's probably the last thing you want to see, considering everything that's happened, and you're probably tired, but I really want you to be there."

Lucas smiled.

"I'll definitely come watch. Of course."

"Thanks, man."

"You better not suck." Lucas teased.

"I'll do my best." Nathan grinned.

"So, have people stopped talking about you yet?"

"If they haven't they're being more discrete."

"Well at least there's that."

"Okay, I need some advice…since I've gotten back, the cheerleaders have been really nice and supportive of me…"

"Like Theresa?" Lucas said knowingly.

"Yes. Among others. And I was wondering, do you think I should ask one of them out?"

"Um…"

"Come on, Luke."

"Not until you work things out with Haley." Lucas said firmly.

Nathan sighed.

"I know, I know. It sucks, but you've got to talk to her and decide where you stand."

"I don't know where we stand." Nathan said, staring at his shoes.

"Look, it's okay. It sucks, I know. I kind of went through the same thing with Brooke."

"You weren't married though."

"True."

"Before you went to talk to Brooke this summer, what did you do?"

"I went through all the scenarios in my head, paced around my room, and looked for any excuse not to go."

"Sounds about right."

"You just have to go through with it."

"What do you think? About me and Haley?"

"I don't know. You both have changed so much since this whole music thing started."

"That's just it. I don't know…if it's right anymore."

"I understand."

"But I've put it off way too long, haven't I?"

"Well…yeah."

"I just don't know what to do."

"Well you have some time to think over it. You don't have to talk to her until later."

"Hey, your mom left the front door unlocked. That's dangerous you know. Okay, so I brought over a couple of DVDs and…Nathan." Haley said, stopping short when she saw who Lucas was with.

"Okay, so I was wrong." Lucas said.

"I'll come back." Haley said quickly.

"No I can go." Nathan said, turning red.

"No, really it's okay." Haley said.

"No, I should get home anyways. I have…homework. Okay Luke, I will call you later tonight or something. Okay?"

"Nate…"

"Bye." Nathan said, clapping Lucas on the shoulder and hurrying out of the room, leaving behind his jacket.

"Nathan, your jacket!" Lucas called out, but Nathan was already out of earshot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut your time with him short." Haley said.

"It's fine. I don't know why he got so freaked out."

"Well obviously spending more than 5 seconds in my presence now scares him."

"I'm sorry, Hales. He'll come around."

"I hope so."

"Okay so what did you bring?"

"Well…"

"I swear, if _The Notebook _is in that pile…"

"It's not." Haley laughed.

Haley put in a DVD, and she and Lucas both sat back on his bed.

After a few minutes, Lucas put his arm around his best friend and kissed the top of her head.

"Just give him time." He said softly.

A few hours later, Lucas had fallen asleep and Haley was sitting on his bed while he slept, looking through old photo albums.

She smiled as she flipped through the pages, looking at pictures from birthday parties and a few middle school dances that they went to together.

"We look like such dorks." She said to herself.

Lucas rolled over and sighed as he slept.

"Lucas." She said, gently shaking him awake.

He sat up and looked over her shoulder.

"Wow, we were dorky." He laughed.

"Yeah, but it was fun."

"Yeah."

"Okay, so I have to head out. I'll see you tomorrow." Haley said.

"Okay." Lucas said, hugging her.

"Bye."

"Bye." Lucas called after her as his cell phone rang.

"Hey Broody, how are you holding up?"

"I'm doing good, I thought you were coming over."

"I was, but Bevin and Theresa had some trouble grasping the routine so I had to stay after."

"Oh, that sucks."

"I'll come over tomorrow morning before school."

"That's so early, Brooke. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I want to see you before my day starts."

"Well, good." Lucas said fondly.

"Okay, well I've got to go and do homework…"

"Do what?" Lucas teased.

"Shut up." Brooke laughed.

"I'm just kidding. Good night."

"Night. I love you."

"I love you too." Lucas said, and hung up.

"Aw, I love you too." Nathan said as he came into Lucas' room.

"Eavesdropping, little brother. Tisk tisk." Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, whatever. What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing, what are you doing here?"

"Well I just missed you so much…and also I left my jacket."

"Oh yeah." Lucas said, remembering.

"I'm sorry I bolted before."

"It's okay, but you-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll talk to her tomorrow in school."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I'll know if you don't."

"Oh really?" Nathan said, raising his eyebrows.

"I have my sources." Lucas smiled.

"Right. So what's all this?" Nathan said, moving aside the photo albums.

"Haley got some DVD, I fell asleep during it, and when I woke up she was looking through them."

"Oh." Nathan said, flipping them open.

"I'm almost afraid to let you look through them."

"Probably for a good reason."

"Yeah."

"Huh." Nathan said after a moment.

Lucas glanced at the picture. It was his 11th birthday party. He was sitting with his cake in front of him, just after he blew out the candles, and Haley was kissing his cheek. If Karen had taken the picture three seconds later, it would have shown Lucas making a face and Haley laughing.

"Oh, yeah. My 11th birthday. Look, there's Skills…and Mouth…"

Nathan laughed.

"He looks exactly the same."

"Pretty much." Lucas chuckled.

Nathan flipped a couple more pages, until he found the same pictures Haley was looking at, from middle school dances.

"You two went to these together?"

"All the ones our parents forced us to go to."

"Wow."

"Okay Lucas, tomorrow Andy and I have to go out and make final wedding arrangements." Karen said, walking into the room.

"Cool. Do you know the date yet?"

"Whatever the next available date is."

"That's great Mom."

"I know you're not really recovered yet, but would you be up for coming with us? I don't want you to be here alone all day."

"It's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Although in the afternoon, I'm sure Brooke would go." Nathan interjected.

"Really?"

"She's crazy about weddings." Lucas agreed.

"Alright then, I'll see if she wants to."

"Is it okay if she comes over real early tomorrow?" Lucas asked.

"Of course. You mean before school?"

"Yeah."

"That's fine, honey. I'm going to bed. It's getting late, just so you know Nathan."

"Okay." Nathan nodded.

"Night boys." Karen said as she closed the door.

"I guess you've gotta head out." Lucas said.

"Yeah."

"Night, bro."

"Night." Nathan said, getting up and leaving.

Brooke tiptoed into Lucas' bedroom the next morning and sat on his bed. He was still fast asleep.

"Lucas…" She whispered. She lay down so she was at his level.

He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hi…I almost didn't want to wake you up you looked so cute sleeping."

"I'm glad you did. I missed you yesterday."

"I missed you too. Your mom called me, we're going dress shopping."

"Oh boy. I'll never see her again if she's going shopping with you." Lucas laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll get her back to you." Brooke smiled.

"That's good to know."

"So are you excited about the wedding?"

"Yeah," Lucas smiled, "She deserves this. And Andy is great."

"He is."

"So Brooke, are you my date?" Lucas said, sitting up.

"You bet your ass I'm your date." Brooke said, pulling him back down and kissing him.

"Lucas we're going-" Karen said, stopping short.

"Oh, jeez. This is…extremely awkward. Mom, this isn't-"

"It's okay Lucas. I let her in." Karen said, smiling a little.

"Sorry Karen, that probably didn't look too good."

"No, but I trust you two. It's getting to be time for school, Brooke." Karen said.

"Noted. See you later." Brooke said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around Lucas, who tightly returned her embrace.

"I'll see you when we get back." She said.

"Okay." Lucas smiled.

"I'll be calling to check on you." Karen said firmly.

"Okay mom."

"I'm really sorry, I know what that must have looked like." Brooke said quickly once they were outside.

"Brooke, I understand. Just…be careful. Both of you have to be responsible about this relationship."

"I know." Brooke nodded.

"He seems so sad whenever you have to leave." Karen said, smiling at Brooke.

"I want to be able to spend more time with him. It must be lonely sometimes during the day."

"He's having a bit of hard time wrapping his head around what happened. We just all need to be there for him."

"Absolutely."

"I'll see you later then, Brooke."

"Bye Karen." Brooke said, heading off to school.

**Sorry if that was a bit on the boring side, I have the next part of this story all in my head, and I just needed a few chapters to set it up and get there. **

**Please leave me a review, you know you wanna ;)**


	37. Chapter 37

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, I wasn't able to upload this yesterday. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter!**

**And thank you to Viea for pointing out that spellcheck had failed me. Or I just clicked "Ignore" one too many times.**

* * *

"Nathan…Nate…please come pick me up." Lucas whined into his cell phone.

"What's wrong?" Nathan sighed.

"They made me come with them."

"Huh?"

"The wedding stuff."

"Oh no, they roped you in?"

"Yes. I managed to miss the dress shopping a few days ago, but now they're looking for shoes."

"And you volunteered to come?"

"No. Brooke and kind of were in an awkward situation this morning when my mom came in. She said she's fine with it but she has the eagle eye on us for the time being. I told her I would come on one wedding thing."

Nathan smiled for the first time that day, and suddenly burst out laughing.

Lucas could hear muffled laughter over the phone.

"Nate?"

"Wh-what awkward situation?" Nathan managed to say

"Making out on my bed."

"Lucas, you slut." Nathan laughed.

"Shut up."

"Okay. Well I've got like 20 more minutes of practice, then I'll come save you." Nathan said.

"Nathan!" Lucas heard Whitey yell.

"Oops. Gotta go. Hang in there." Nathan said quickly and hung up.

* * *

"Lucas, what do you think of these shoes?" Brooke said, shoving a pair of high heels in his face.

"They're…nice?" Lucas said weakly.

"Come on, I want to look nice."

"I don't know Brooke, they're shoes." Lucas sighed.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, putting down the shoebox and sitting next to Lucas.

"I'm shoe shopping."

"So?"

"Lucas, are you bored?" Karen asked as she walked by.

"Just a little. Is it okay if Nate comes in like 20 minutes to pick me up?"

"We might already be done by then." Karen said.

"Wanna bet." Lucas mumbled.

"Crabby." Brooke smiled, kissing his check and getting up.

* * *

"Yes coach?" Nathan sighed, his temporary good mood disappearing.

"I know sometimes I mumble, but I do think I clearly said go get a drink, not go get on your cell phone." Whitey snapped.

"Sorry." Nathan mumbled.

"Just for that, you can stay after and do a few extra drills."

"What? I have to go pick up Lucas."

"He can wait a few extra minutes."

"But I promised him. I'll do it next week." Nathan insisted

"Yeah you will, if you keep giving me lip like this."

"Whitey. Please."

"Scott, you are lucky to be on this team, I can't believe you are already losing sight of that. I'm giving you a huge second chance here, and I don't want you to waste it. Now if you're serious about this, then your time with Lucas can wait 20 minutes. Now, are you going to practice or are you going to go cuddle with your brother on the couch and watch your future pass you by?"

"I'm going to practice." Nathan mumbled.

"That's what I thought." Whitey said, turning and walking away.

Nathan bit his lip, getting angrier by the second, and then spoke again.

"Then I'm going home, and hanging out with my brother, who by the way almost _died_ less than a week ago. In fact, his heart _did_ stop. So if I want to spend some freaking time with him, I don't think I should be punished or ridiculed for that." Nathan snapped.

"I didn't ridicule you."

"Cuddle on the couch?" Nathan raised his eyebrows.

Whitey inhaled sharply, but didn't say anything. He knew Nathan was right.

"Yeah. So I'll do whatever the hell you want. I'll be the best damn player out there, but I would appreciate it if we didn't talk about our personal lives anymore." Nathan said, jogging out to the court.

"You okay man?" Jake asked as Nathan ran by.

"Never better." Nathan muttered.

Nathan practiced as hard as he could, and stayed half an hour after practice doing drills while Whitey watched silently.

Then without a word to Whitey, he walked out.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to the address Lucas had given him. He was still livid about everything that happened that day.

Lucas walked out, looking exhausted, and immediately Nathan's expression softened. He had to keep his frustrations in check. Lucas already had enough problems

"Nathan, where the hell have you been?" Lucas complained.

"I'm so sorry Luke. Whitey was being more of a hardass than usual." Nathan sighed.

"It's okay. Everything alright?"

"I'm just…no, I'm okay. I'll tell you later." Nathan said quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Long day."

"I understand."

"So one of the guys on the team, I think its Mike, is having a party after the game." Nathan said after a few minutes of silence.

"Keeping the tradition going." Lucas nodded.

"I asked Theresa if she wanted to go with me."

"Really." Lucas said, surprised.

"Yeah."

"I was kind of expecting that your talk with Haley would've gone a different way."

"It's just…not right. With all that's happened, it's not right at the moment. I just want to be a high school senior, not a husband."

"Do you think it will be? Ever?"

"Maybe. If it's meant to be, it'll happen." Nathan said firmly.

"Ooh, how romantic." Lucas said in a girlish voice. Nathan swatted him on the arm and turned into the driveway.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." Nathan said.

"You bet. You sure you don't wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

"Not right now. I'll call you later or something."

"Sounds good. Later, little brother." Lucas said, getting out of the car.

Nathan started laughing again. Lucas leaned back into the car.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to picture your mom freaking out this morning."

"BYE." Lucas laughed and slammed the door.

* * *

Later, Nathan walked up to his room and took a piece of paper from his pocket.

**Nathan, **

**We need to talk. Please meet me, before practice. I'll be at the tutoring center right after school. I know you don't want to, but please do this one last thing for me.**

**Haley**

Slowly he folded the note back up and slid to the floor, thinking about what actually happened that afternoon.

"_Nathan!" Haley called as he walked by the tutoring center, hoping she wouldn't see him._

"_Oh…" Nathan said._

"_Didn't you get my note?" _

"_Yeah, I did. I had to get to practice." _

"_Practice doesn't start for another 20 minutes." _

_Nathan sighed, knowing he was trapped. He tried to think of an excuse to leave, but then he remembered what Lucas said. He needed to do this. _

"_Sorry." He mumbled. _

"_Were you trying to avoid this?"_

"_No…" Nathan said quickly._

_Haley stared at him for a moment._

"_Okay, fine. I was."_

"_It's okay, I've been dreading this." _

"_Me too." _

"_So, um…" _

"_I don't really know what to say." _

"_We need to decide things."_

"_Like what?" _

"_What do you mean, like what? How about everything about our marriage?" Haley said, frustrated._

"_Don't yell at me, I was just asking." Nathan said. _

"_We need to decide where we stand, once and for all. I'm sick of this, Nathan."_

"_You told me you were willing to wait."_

"_Well this is a ridiculous amount of time."_

"_This whole thing is ridiculous." Nathan muttered under his breath. _

"_I'm sorry being married is something you find to be ridiculous." Haley snapped._

"_We're too young for this. I mean, we're so easily sidetracked from taking care of any marital problems, we're just kids."_

"_So what? It's all over then?"_

"_I want to be a kid, Haley. I want to go to school, play basketball, hang out with my friends, go home and play videogames with my brother, stuff like that." _

"_Where does that leave us?"_

"_I…want to date. I was planning on asking Theresa out." Nathan said slowly._

"_So that's it then." _

"_I don't know. Maybe." Nathan said sadly_

**

* * *

**

"Wow." Lucas said, listening to Nathan recount the conversation later that night.

"Yeah, I don't know. I just completely lose my mind when I talk to her lately."

"Sounds like it."

"Yeah, but I do just want to date, be a kid."

"I understand."

"I'm just used to what things are like now."

"Yeah but Nate, you can't forget about this."

"I know." Nathan sighed.

"So tell me about practice."

"Whitey gave me a bunch of crap for being on the phone, blah blah blah I'm not taking this seriously, and then made me do extra drills."

"That sucks, man."

"Yeah. So are you going to be there when I get back from practice?"

"Most likely. I'm packing my stuff up now."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"Hey Lucas?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Life sucks."

Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, sometimes."

**

* * *

**

**Teeheehee.**

**Okay, since I took so long with this chapter I'll give you some spoilers about what I've already got planned for the next chapter.**

**-Haley takes what Nathan said in their talk and uses it to her advantage**

**-There's going to be a party at Tric**

**-Some relationships are going to be strained. Oh yes, they will. –evil laughter-**

**-Nice father/son talk**

**Please read and review!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey all, thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**Okay, I hope y'all are comfortable, because this chapter is _long._ It started out with me just writing a scene that I've had in my head (because the angst, I love the angst), and it ended up being 7 pages long. Which are how long my chapters are usually. So once I you know, added a plot and everything, it ended up being extremely long.**

**There are some relationship troubles like I said, but never fear. I love all the relationships in the story, and we all like the happy don't we? But sometimes the angst is fun too.**

* * *

Early Friday afternoon, Karen dropped Lucas off at Dan's house.

"Okay honey, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes, mom."

"You don't have to come to the club tomorrow night Lucas. I know you must be tired."

"Nah. I need to get out and do something."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"But honey…"

"I'm fine Mom."

"You were burning up earlier. Maybe you should just stay home."

"The doctor said it was probably just from sitting around all the time. Which is why I should get out."

"If you're sure…"

"Which I am."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Mom."

"Hey there." Dan said as Lucas walked in.

"Hey." Lucas smiled.

"Didn't I see your mom pull up like five minutes ago?"

"She wanted to make sure I was okay before she let me out of her sight."

Dan chuckled.

"I should've known. Hey, put your stuff upstairs. I want to talk to you.'

"Okay." Lucas said.

Dan was in the living room when he returned downstairs.

"Sit."

"Am I in trouble?" Lucas joked weakly.

"No. I actually wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Lucas asked, sitting down on the couch facing Dan.

"I haven't really been there for you much during this whole thing. I barely spent any time with you in the hospital, and I didn't check in at all with you this week."

"It's okay, there were other things-"

"I just got scared of losing you when we just started to get to know each other. First you and Nathan got into that car accident, then Nathan had to go to rehab, and then you have a heart attack. It felt like some kind of sign from above."

Lucas was silent for a moment.

"I was disappointed you didn't really come talk to me at all after that first visit." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry Lucas."

"It's okay. I do understand where you're coming from though."

"You do?"

"I'm always afraid of losing things now. I think that every single time Nathan and I argue, we both freak out. We don't want any of our fights to be the one that drives us apart again."

"But you and Nathan rarely argue."

"Exactly."

"I see. So…how have you been?"

"Not especially good."

"Really?"

"I'm just pissed off that all this happened. Especially when I've been so careful with the medication and I quit basketball."

"I know. It still doesn't make sense to me."

"Me either." Lucas said sadly.

"Well, I may not have been there much this past week, but from now on, I'm here 24/7. Okay?"

"Okay." Lucas smiled.

"So how are you feeling? You look a little flushed." Dan said, getting up and feeling Lucas' forehead.

"I'm fine."

"You're burning up."

"It's just from sitting around all week. Trust me, my mom called the doctor like every day."

"I bet." Dan smiled.

* * *

"Nathan, if you grip my arm any tighter, you might just rip it off." Lucas hissed in Nathan's ear as they walked into the house where the party was being held.

Nathan glanced down. He did in fact have his brother's wrist in a vice grip.

"I'm sorry Lucas." He whispered, letting go.

"Ah, freedom." Lucas smiled.

"What are you two whispering about?" Brooke asked.

"Nothing." They replied in unison.

"Nathan you want to go get a drink?" Theresa asked.

"Sure." Nathan nodded, following her into the crowd.

"That's so cute, he's nervous isn't he?" Brooke smiled.

"A little bit." Lucas laughed.

"Aww. So how are you?"

"Doing really good, actually."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. My dad and I had a good talk today. He told me he was sorry for not really checking in with me while I was in the hospital. Said he got scared…"

"I'm glad that you worked that out."

"Yeah, finally something is going good for me." Lucas said.

Brooke stopped.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, oblivious.

"Nothing." Brooke answered quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Let's party." Brooke smiled, deciding to let it go.

"After you." Lucas said, letting Brooke lead the way.

They continued to hang out at the party, and watched together as Nathan and Theresa slowly got more and more comfortable around each other. By the end of the night, Nathan was definitely back to his old self, laughing and joking with everyone and having a great time.

"We're going to Tric together tomorrow night." Nathan said happily as he and Lucas got in the car to go home.

"That's great, Nathan. So you feel good about this?"

"Definitely."

* * *

The next night at Tric, it seemed like everyone from Tree Hill High was there. Everyone was dancing and laughing, having a great time.

"Bubbly for my boyfriend?" Brooke said, bouncing over to Lucas and giggling loudly.

"Brooke…where did you get that?" Lucas asked.

"The bar, duh."

"Brooke come on, my mom is around."

"Oh so what? It's a party! She isn't inspecting every single one of us."

"Please. I don't want her or you to get into trouble."

"Lucas, come on. Have some fun for once."

"I do have fun."

"Not lately. You're always so moody…come on baby, let's dance." Brooke said, pulling him roughly onto the dance floor and clumsily moving around.

"Here, Brooke. Let's sit instead." Lucas said, pulling her back down to a table. He handed her his water bottle.

"I don't want it."

"You need it. You have to sober up before my mom sees."

"Oh my God, Lucas. Will you shut up about getting in trouble?" Brooke snapped, suddenly becoming angry.

Lucas sat there for a second, taken aback.

"What?"

"I am so _sick _of this. Every time I try to have fun, you always ruin it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're never happy anymore, Lucas. Why can't I make you happy?"

"You do make me happy, Brooke."

"You have a funny way of showing it!"

"What's going on Brooke? You know getting drunk at my mom's club would upset her. Do you really want her to get in trouble for this?"

"No." Brooke said quietly.

"Here, we can go back to my house and-"

"No. I don't want to. I want to stay. I'm having fun with my friends. This is who I am, Lucas. Take it or leave it."

"This isn't you. You're not stupid enough to be drunk at my mom's club where people _will _notice that you're underage, because they know you, Brooke!"

"So now I'm stupid?"

"I just said you weren't!"

"You know what, I am sick of this. I guess I'll just find someone else then."

"What?"

"You don't appreciate me at all, do you?" Brooke yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

"I never make you happy. You talk about how sad you are, so I must be part of that! Why don't you just find someone else? Or better yet, go find Nathan, he's the only one you seem to care about these days!"

"What?"

"You heard me." Brooke snapped, picking up her drink and disappearing in the crowd.

Lucas swallowed hard and went out back behind the club.

He slowly leaned himself against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"What did I do?" He wondered out loud as he pushed himself back up into a standing position.

"Dammit!" He yelled over and over, punching the brick wall repeatedly, not caring about the scratches and cuts that were now covering his hand. And the pain...well it was nothing new to him these days. Suddenly he realized he wasn't even thinking about Brooke in particular, he was mad at a lot of things in his life. It felt almost good to get it all out, even if this was a stupid way to do it.

Slowly he sank down to his knees and rubbed his arm, which was full of a dull ache as blood ran over his fingers.

He shivered in the damp chill of the air, and slowly got up to make his way home.

* * *

Jake moved through the crowd, looking for Nathan. He finally found him sitting on a couch with Theresa.

"Hey man. Where's Peyton?" Nathan said, turning to face him.

"Getting Brooke so they can go home."

"It's still early." Theresa said, checking her watch.

"Yeah, well Brooke is not in the best state of mind right now. How's Lucas doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what? What happened?" Nathan asked, standing up.

"Brooke's been drinking. She decided that Lucas wasn't enough 'fun' for her so she dumped him in front of everyone and went off somewhere."

"You got to be kidding me."

"I'll go help Peyton find her." Theresa said, disappearing into the crowd.

"This can't be happening." Nathan said, mostly to himself.

"Look, it just seems like things got a little out of control." Jake said, trying to reassure Nathan.

"This is going to destroy him, Jake. Why did this have to happen now?"

"Hey is Lucas alright? I saw him run out of here a few minutes ago, he looked really upset." Mouth said, approaching Jake and Nathan.

"Something happened with him and Brooke." Nathan said quickly, wanting to get out of there.

"Nathan, it'll be okay." Jake said calmly.

"I hope you're right…I have to go see if he's okay. Tell Theresa I'm sorry."

"Okay…"

"Call me later and give me an update?"

"You got it."

"Thanks Jake." Nathan said, running outside as Jake and Mouth went to find Brooke and Peyton.

* * *

Nathan ran up the stairs as fast as he could, and threw open the door to Lucas' bedroom. There wasn't anyone in there, but Nathan could see Lucas sitting in the doorway of the adjoining room.

"Lucas?" Nathan said quietly, walking over to Lucas and sitting down beside him.

Lucas was sitting against a cabinet, with his head lolled to the side, staring dully into space. He had come up there with the intention of treating his hand and then going to sleep, but he ended up sitting on the floor.

Nathan scooted closer and stared at his brother.

"Lucas come on…talk to me."

"So should I just drum up another heart attack and make it stick? Make everyone's life easier?" Lucas said finally, his voice strained.

"She didn't mean it." Nathan said.

"If even she didn't mean it, she's right. I dump all my problems on everyone else, no wonder she got sick of me and dumped me."

"Come on, she's going to wake up tomorrow and realize she made a mistake. She loves you."

"I didn't mean to make her mad, I really didn't." Lucas said, finally looking Nathan in the eye.

"It's going to be okay."

"Okay." Lucas said, running his hands through his hair.

Nathan felt a little relieved for a second, until he saw blood smeared right near Lucas' hairline.

"What the hell…" Nathan leaned over and felt Lucas' forehead for cuts.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, pulling away.

"Your head is bleeding." Nathan said.

"Huh?" Lucas said, touching his forehead.

Nathan was still leaning over him, and saw the source of the blood.

"Luke. Oh my God." Nathan gasped, grabbing Lucas' hand and inspecting it. His knuckles were all banged up and Lucas moving them had caused them to start bleeding again.

Lucas tried to pull away, but Nathan had a firm grip on his arm.

"Nathan, stop. It's fine."

"Fine? Lucas, look at your hand!"

"It was just…I went outside behind the club. Punched the wall a couple of times." Lucas said quickly as Nathan ran his fingers over all the cuts and scratches on his hands.

"Come on, here." Nathan said, grabbing a washcloth and Lucas' hand.

"It was just a few times…" Lucas mumbled.

Nathan slipped his other arm under Lucas' shoulders and pulled him up.

"Shit. You're lucky these aren't deep, we'd have to go the emergency room. What did you do to yourself Luke?" Nathan said, inspecting the cuts.

"I was pissed off. At myself, at Brooke, everything…" Lucas said as Nathan began treating his hand.

Nathan sighed and wrapped up Lucas' wrist in gauze.

"Do you need to make it so…obvious?" Lucas mumbled.

"Um, if you want it to _heal _then, yeah." Nathan said.

"Sorry. I just don't want her to see." Lucas said softly.

"Well she's going to. I can't get around that." Nathan said.

"What's with you?" Lucas asked, pulling his hand back.

"This was just a really stupid thing to do." Nathan said, grabbing Lucas' hand again.

"It's good enough."

"Wait a minute. I'm almost done." Nathan said tightly.

"I'm fine. It's just some scratches and bruises."

"But it could've been a lot worse." Nathan said angrily.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. I just hurt my hand, Nate. Nothing more."

"But you could've done something worse, Lucas! Don't you get why this bothers me so much? I don't want to watch you hurt yourself, and I especially don't want to watch you end up in the hospital again!" Nathan yelled.

Lucas didn't know what to say.

Nathan swallowed hard, embarrassed about losing his temper like that. He looked at Lucas sitting in front of him, looking lost, blood still smeared on his forehead.

"Sorry. That's not what you need. Sorry…sorry." Nathan mumbled, feeling bad.

"Jeez." Lucas finally said, his voice a little shaky.

Nathan nodded quietly.

"I get it, now's not the time. I'm sorry. I'm doubly sorry, because this is going to sting." Nathan said.

Lucas winced.

"Ouch." He said, trying to pull his hand away, but Nathan grabbed hold of it.

Nathan smiled sympathetically at Lucas.

"That should do it." He said.

"Thanks." Lucas said quietly.

"Feeling better?"

"Feeling like an idiot is more like it. You're right, it was stupid"

"You were angry."

"Yeah. Hey…do you think we spend too much time together?"

"Probably." Nathan laughed.

Lucas nodded.

"Why?"

"Brooke said I only seemed to care about you these days."

"Where did she get that idea?"

"I must've said something to her. I don't know. I don't what I did."

* * *

Brooke woke up and realized she was in Peyton's room. Peyton wasn't in the room, but she could hear voices down in the kitchen.

She wandered down in the kitchen and saw Peyton making breakfast.

"Good morning sunshine." Peyton said.

"I feel like crap." She moaned, sitting at the table and resting her head in her arms.

"That is what the aspirin, and the pancakes I'm making is for." Peyton said, pointing to the bottle of aspirin on the table.

"Thanks."

"Sure."

"Okay, so I can't remember anything from last night. Please tell me I didn't do anything stupid."

"Well I could, but then I'd be lying." Peyton sighed.

"Why? What happened?"

"Brooke!" Jake said, coming in with a big fake smile.

"Volume, Jake." Brooke complained, rubbing her head.

"So sorry. Hangovers are a bitch, are they not? So how does it feel to be single again?" Jake said, his fake smile disappearing.

"What?" Brooke gasped, looking at Peyton for confirmation.

Peyton nodded sadly.

"No. No! No…what happened?"

"Well, you snuck alcohol at Tric, and when Lucas tried to stop you, you yelled at him, dumped him, and were hitting on other guys within 15 minutes."

Brooke sank down in a chair, trying to wrap her mind around it all.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" She said, her voice filled with tears.

"Brooke, just talk to him." Peyton said gently.

"I can't talk to him after I did that to him, he'll never speak to me again."

"You have to talk to him. You love him, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"Then make this right." Jake said.

"You're right. Can I use your phone?"

"Go for it." Peyton nodded.

She smiled a little when she heard Peyton scolding Jake for being a jackass as she walked out the room.

She made her way up to Peyton's bedroom and shakily dialed the number to Lucas' cell phone.

* * *

Nathan woke up early and went across the hall to check on Lucas. They had both stayed up late that night talking, and didn't get much sleep.

Lucas was still out like a light, so Nathan quietly shut the door and went downstairs to get something to eat.

Lucas had left his jacket, wallet, and cell phone in a heap on the counter. Nathan picked it up to move it, and as he was holding the stuff, Lucas' cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Brooke.

"Before you ask, Lucas is asleep and I'm sure as hell not waking him up. And even if he was awake and had answered the phone, I probably would've ripped it from his hands and smashed it so he wouldn't talk to you." Nathan said, remembering how upset Lucas was the night before.

"Nathan, please." Brooke said desperately.

"Bye Brooke." Nathan hung up.

Lucas got up an hour later and came downstairs.

"Hey." Lucas yawned.

"Hey. If you're still tired, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I just need to get out I think. Go for a walk."

"You want me to come with you?" Nathan asked.

"No, but thanks. I just need to clear my head."

"Sounds good." Nathan said quickly.

* * *

Lucas walked past the café and decided to go to the music store. Before he could walk in, Brooke appeared and grabbed his elbow.

"Lucas, please listen to me." Brooke pleaded.

"Now you want to talk to me?" Lucas said angrily, pulling away.

"I'm so sorry for last night. That wasn't me. Not anymore. I'm so sorry Luke."

"What happened to you Brooke?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. I just was frustrated I guess. Being the party girl seemed appealing last night. It was a way to escape."

"Escape from what?"

"This past year or so I've tried to be a whole lot more mature. I'm living on my own, I have to keep a job, and I'm in a real relationship with someone instead of just hooking up randomly-"

"Well I'm sorry if being with me is too much for you Brooke."

"It's not, Lucas! I just…I don't know what happened to me. I understand though, if you never want to talk to me, if you can't forgive me. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry and I would do anything to make this right because I love you so much."

"I love you too." Lucas said quietly.

"What?"

"I love you too, but how could you do that? What did I do?"

"Lucas…"

"We've both done stupid things in the past, Brooke. I'm going to make mistakes; you're going to make mistakes, its all part of life. I would love to move past this, but a lot of stuff you said last night…I can't get it out of my head."

"I didn't mean it."

"There had to be a bit of truth behind it. You asked me why I was so unhappy all the time, why couldn't you make me happy, that I don't appreciate you, and there had to be some basis to those feelings."

"Maybe…"

"Come on, tell me."

"I do sometimes wonder, why you aren't happier. But then I realize that you've been through so much."

"I have. But you definitely make me happy. You've been the bright spot in most of the crap I've been going through this year."

Brooke smiled.

"That's good to know. I needed to hear that."

"I'm sorry, I never tell you enough how much you do for me."

"I just want you to be happy again, like you were that night when Nathan came home."

"Well I could be…if I knew we were okay."

"Are we okay?"

"Yeah I think we will be."

"I love you so much Lucas."

"I love you too."

"We're good?" Brooke asked, taking his hand.

"Yeah."

Brooke smiled and then felt the bandage on Lucas' hand.

"What happened?" She asked, looking at his hand.

"Last night, I kind of took out my frustrations on the wall outside Tric."

"Oh my God…"

"It's fine. Nathan wrapped it up."

"Good."

"I should head home."

"Okay…you sure?"

"Yeah I need to get some sleep. Didn't get too much last night."

"Oh. Okay. I'm glad we got to talk. After this morning, I thought you hated me."

"What?"

"This morning, I called you. Nathan answered."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Lucas, he was just trying to protect you."

"It's none of his business." Lucas fumed.

"Lucas…"

"I'll call you later. I promise." Lucas said, walking away.

* * *

"Hey." Nathan said as Lucas came in.

"Hi."

"You okay?"

"Brooke and I made up."

"Just now?"

"Yeah. Of course it would've been a lot sooner if you had told me she called." Lucas said pointedly.

Nathan swallowed hard. This was not going to go well.

"Look, I'm sorry. She called really early this morning and we had both just gotten to sleep…and I didn't want you to get upset again."

"Nathan, it wasn't for you to decide."

"I was trying to protect you! She hurt you bad, Lucas. I could see it in your eyes, even if you didn't have a screwed up hand to show for it."

"I don't need to be protected. What if she had thought I never wanted to speak to her again and gave up?"

"She wouldn't."

"She could've."

"Lucas, I'm sorry. Okay? Please, just relax."

"Whatever." Lucas muttered, going up to his room.

Nathan went up to his own room a few minutes later, stunned.

He stayed there for an hour, listening to music and trying to figure out what had just happened. Finally he got up to look for Lucas, who had left a note on the kitchen table saying he was at the café.

Nathan sighed and picked up his keys.

"Hey Karen, have you seen Lucas?"

"Yeah, he went up on the roof. He and Haley have a whole mini golf set up there."

"Oh."

"It's right that way." Karen said, pointing.

Lucas was tossing a golf ball between his hands when Nathan walked up to him.

"Haley and I built this." Lucas said quietly.

"So no outsiders?" Nathan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I honestly don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was being a jackass earlier, Nate. I understand why you didn't tell me about Brooke calling. I probably would've done something like that if the situation was reversed."

Nathan laughed.

"Yeah. Probably."

Lucas laughed too.

"I don't know…I'm just trying to get back to normal, and for some reason it's easier to just push people away."

"You didn't push Brooke away."

"I think I might have."

"How?"

"I just kept making so many comments about how much my life sucked yesterday, and that nothing was right anymore. I think she definitely took it to heart, because last night one of the things she asked me was why she didn't make me happy."

"Oh…"

"I don't know, Nate. I've just been down lately, and it seems easier to either bitch about it or to try and piss you or someone else off than deal with it."

"I didn't realize it was this bad."

"Me either."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. Thank you for trying to protect me from being hurt again. I really do appreciate that you cared. Even though…it was between me and Brooke."

"I won't do that again." Nathan promised.

"Hopefully you won't ever have to. But thanks anyways."

"Anytime."

"Sometimes I think you act like the older brother instead of me."

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"For the last time, you're only three months older than me."

"Yeah, whatever little brother." Lucas laughed.

**

* * *

Heh. So I screwed around a little with the relationships. But nothing too bad, right? I also realize I didn't include the Haley subplot that I said I was going to, but it didn't quite fit in how I wanted with this chapter. Next chapter for sure.**

**Hmm…it is really weird writing Dan as a nicer person, especially considering how he is on the show. Also, Karen to an extent after this week's episode. I understand she is grieving, but _wow. _Ouchies. Poor Lucas.**

**Up next…well I think Lucas needs some kind of outlet for all his frustrations, don't you? Perhaps Nathan can help him find a way to deal with everything, yes? And Haley definitely comes up with a way to get Nathan's attention again. **

**As always, please read and review!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys are awesome!**

**Eh...this chapter is kind of short. And filler-y. It's hard to concentrate when I'm on a break from school. Weird, yes, that's me.  
**

**I'm aiming for the next chapter to be a longer one, it's looking pretty good so far. I hope.  
**

* * *

"Stop looking at my hand like that." Lucas complained.

"It's crazy, man." Nathan said.

Lucas' hand was healing, but now it was bruised and covered with thin scratches and scabs.

"You're not helping." Lucas snapped.

"Sorry. Just…damn. Did Brooke_see_this?"

"She saw the bandage."

"Just show her your hand if she ever doubts your relationship."

"That's sweet, Nate. Besides, it's not like this will be here forever." Lucas said, pulling his hand away.

Nathan grabbed his hand back and started to rewrap it.

"Stop pulling away." He scolded gently.

"This is just so annoying." Lucas grumbled.

"There you go." Nathan said, releasing his hand./

"Thanks." Lucas sighed. He stood up and started to leave.

"You alright?" Nathan said, putting his hand on Lucas' shoulder to stop him.

"Fine." Lucas muttered.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Lucas said tightly and left.

Nathan glanced at his reflection and sighed.

"All righty then." He said.

When he got downstairs, Lucas was sitting on the couch, his arm on the armrest, his chin in his hand. He looked lost in thought.

He wanted to say something, but he knew Lucas was upset. He decided to let him be.

"Mom! I'm going to meet Theresa!" He called.

"Okay!" Deb responded.

"See you Luke." Nathan said quietly, giving his brother a quick pat on the shoulder.

Lucas didn't respond.

* * *

Dan came up the driveway as Nathan was jogging towards his car.

"Where are you off to?"

"I've got a date with Theresa."

"Are we going to meet her sometime?"

"You've met her. She's been over here before, for parties and stuff."

"You know what I mean."

"We'll see."

"Alright. Where's your brother?"

"On the couch."

"How's he doing?"

"He's…not having a good day. No particular reason, he's just down."

"It happens sometimes." Dan said, heading inside.

"How are you doing Lucas?" Dan asked.

Lucas didn't look up.

Dan sat down and gently turned Lucas towards him.

"Do you want to get out of the house or something? You look bored."

"No." Lucas said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well I've got to get to the dealership. I've got a meeting…" Dan said slowly.

"You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Lucas. I just came home for some files." Dan said sadly.

"It's okay."

"Invite someone over. Do something. For me?" Dan said, rubbing his shoulder lightly.

"Okay." Lucas said quietly.

"I'll see you later." Dan said

* * *

Lucas didn't actually do what Dan had said, but instead was watching television when Nathan came back from lunch with Theresa.

"Hey."

"Hey." Lucas said quietly.

"Luke, did something happen?"

"No…"

"Just having a bad day?"

"Yes. It happens sometimes. Jeez." Lucas snapped.

"Seriously, Lucas. You've been in this mood all day. Did I do something?"

"No. Just drop it, I'm fine."

"Okay…well do you want to come with me to the Rivercourt?"

"So I can watch you play a game that I can no longer play in case I you know, _die_ or something? No thanks."

"Come on man. We'll get Jake to come, and I'll invite Theresa. Brooke can come too."

"And we can all sit on the sidelines while once again, I watch you play the game that I've been dying to play since October?"

Nathan swallowed hard, feeling stupid.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid of me…"

Lucas saw Nathan's hurt expression and immediately felt bad.

"No, I'm being stupid. I've come to your basketball games before…"

"Yeah, but still this is just for fun and you…"

"I'll go. Just let me get Mouth to come up too."

"You want commentary?"

"Definitely. If I have to sit and watch you all play, I need to be able to make fun of you."

"That's nice. So, are you really okay with coming?"

"I don't know. But I did promise Dad I would do something earlier today."

"You totally were planning on staying on that couch all day weren't you?"

"Absolutely. But he doesn't need to know that."

* * *

"Dude you totally went music shopping without me." Jake said, scrolling through Lucas' iPod.

"You try being stuck home for days without anyone to talk to."

"I see your point." Jake nodded, handing Lucas back his iPod and pulling Jenny into his lap.

"Jagielski! In or out?" Nathan called.

"Out for now." Jake responded.

"You don't have to-"

"It's fine. So let me see that hand of yours."

Lucas reached his hand out and unwrapped the bandage.

"Wow. You really did a number on yourself, didn't you Lucas?"

"Yeah." Lucas sighed.

"Luka!" Jenny giggled.

Lucas smiled and repeated his name slowly for her to learn.

"Luka!" Jenny repeated.

"Ah, well. Close enough." Lucas shrugged.

"Yeah." Jake laughed.

"Ooh, if you two were any more adorable, I don't know what I would do." Brooke said, walking over with Theresa and Peyton.

"I am awfully adorable aren't I?" Jake grinned.

"Get over yourself Jagielski. I was talking about Jenny and of course Lucas." Brooke said, leaning towards Lucas and kissing him hello.

"Jeez, right up close why don't you?" Jake said, jumping off the picnic table.

"Relax boy." Peyton said, kissing him.

"Hey." Nathan said, coming over to the group.

"Hey there." Theresa said, giving him a kiss too.

"Jake, get off your ass and come play." Nathan said, grinning.

"Fine, fine." Jake said, handing Jenny to Peyton.

"So Lucas, I'm kind of surprised you would come for this." Peyton said slowly.

"Nate wanted me to come, and I really needed to get out of the house." Lucas replied, settling back on the table with his arm around Brooke.

"One of those days?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. I was kind of terrible to Nathan all day, I have to apologize later."

"He'll understand."

"Yeah."

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Mouth said, running up.

"No problem. This should be interesting…Jenny say Mouth." Lucas said.

"Mouth!" Jenny said.

"That's crazy, she can say that, but not Luke or Lucas?" Lucas muttered to himself.

"Let it go." Brooke said lightly, wrapping her arm around his waist.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Brooke ran up the stairs to her apartment as Haley came out of hers.

"Hey neighbor."

"Hey Tutorgirl! How are you?"

"Good, what have you been up to?"

"Oh not much, was down at the Rivercourt with the boys…and Peyton…"

"And Theresa?"

"Yeah…I'm sorry Haley. I know how much you wanted Nathan to come around."

"I guess I waited too long. Made too many mistakes."

"I'm really sorry. And I know it must be weird, me hanging out with them…"

"No, I understand. Besides, he and Theresa are…cute."

"I guess so." Brooke said.

"They totally are." Haley sighed.

"Yeah, but I wish there was some way to make this good for you too."

"Yeah, but what can I do? Nathan said he wanted to date. And not just date, but date other people."

"Well…why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Date someone."

"Brooke!"

"Haley!"

"I can't do that. I don't want to…"

"Upset him? He's the one who put out this whole idea of dating other people. He can't get mad at you for that."

"But-"

"He can, however, if he still has feelings for you, get insanely jealous." Brooke grinned.

* * *

"So that didn't suck did it?" Nathan asked on the way home.

"Nah, but your team sure did." Lucas grinned.

"Hey now, it's not my fault that Skillz bailed after only 20 minutes."

"Yes, but Jake and the others _whipped _you. It was painful for me to watch."

"You're hateful now." Nathan laughed.

"Still, it was fun to watch."

"I noticed you joined Mouth on the commentary. You both were _cold _today, I'm glad that wasn't for the real game."

"It was fun to bust on you all. If you can't join them, beat out every shed of self esteem they have." Lucas grinned.

"That's the spirit." Nathan laughed.

"Hey boys. Lucas, feeling better?" Dan asked when they returned home.

"Much better."

"Good."

"You should join Mouth for the next game. Except you might make people cry." Nathan grinned.

"Oh shut up, it wasn't that bad."

"Oh, I think Jake had tears in his eyes as we left." Nathan teased.

Dan laughed.

"You're crazy." Lucas laughed.

"Well it sounds like you had fun, so that's good. Dinner should be in twenty minutes or so." Dan said.

"Great. I'm starving." Nathan said.

"Me too."

"I'm going to go shower. See you soon." Nathan said, starting to leave.

"Hey little brother, you know I love you right?" Lucas said teasingly.

"I've always suspected." Nathan grinned.

**

* * *

**

**There...little fluffy (actually, this was filler-y and fluffy), but hey, last chapter was oh so angsty. I just wanted to have Lucas have a little fun and get out some of his frustrations in a way that did not involve bodily harm ) Next chapter we'll probably be heading down Angst Avenue again. Oh yes…we will.  
**

**As always, I would love to read what y'all think )  
**


	40. Chapter 40

**Thanks for reading and reviewing as always! **

**Hope you enjoy. **

* * *

"Hey Lucas, can you do me a favor?" Dan asked. 

"Yeah." Lucas yawned.

"Can you wake up Nathan? He has practice later and I'm sick of seeing him wake up twenty minutes before and running through the house."

"Okay." Lucas said, standing up.

He knocked softly on Nathan's door and came into the room.

"Nate…"

Nathan rolled over and mumbled something incoherent.

"What's that?" Lucas laughed, sitting on his bed.

"What the hell it's only 10:00, I don't have practice till 1:00." Nathan groaned, looking at the clock.

"I don't know all Dad said was that he didn't want you to rush." Lucas said, lying on Nathan's bed.

"Why are you laying on my bed?" Nathan mumbled into his pillow.

"I'm tired." Lucas yawned.

"Then why were you up?"

"I don't know…" Lucas said sleepily.

"Don't fall asleep on me, I'll forget to get up."

"What?"

"What?" Nathan mumbled.

Twenty minutes later Dan came upstairs.

"Lucas? Nathan?"

"Who's yelling?" Nathan mumbled.

Lucas didn't respond, he was still fast asleep.

"Nathan, I sent Lucas up here twenty minutes ago." Dan said, knocking on the door and opening it after a moment.

"Lucas is sleeping." Nathan said, finally sitting up.

Dan laughed.

"Guess I shouldn't have sent him up here. Anyways, I want you to get up at least an hour before practice."

"Okay." Nathan said, getting out of bed.

"Lucas." Dan said.

Nathan jumped back on the bed, bouncing it hard and waking Lucas.

"Nathan!" Dan scolded.

"Holy crap, Nate." Lucas said, sitting straight up.

"Sorry." Nathan laughed.

"Jerk." Lucas complained.

"All right, let's get moving." Dan said.

* * *

Right when Nathan arrived at the school, it started to rain.

"Great." He muttered, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Lucas.

"I'm still mad at you for waking me up like that."

"Uh huh. So I thought today was supposed to be sunny."

"Apparently not."

"If it's still raining, can you come pick me up afterwards?"

"Yeah just give me a call."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Have fun."

"Oh, I'm sure I will." Nathan rolled his eyes and hung up.

He walked out of the locker room and onto the court, shooting baskets before practice started.

"Nathan can I talk to you for a minute?" Eric, one of his teammates asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, you're dating Theresa now, right? Boyfriend, girlfriend and everything?"

"Yeah…" Nathan said slowly, not getting the point.

"So would it bother you if I went out with Haley?" Eric asked.

Nathan paused. He never expected that to come up.

_"I just want to date, Haley. I want to be a kid."_

Obviously, he should have.

"Um, I guess so. I mean…I'm dating Theresa."

"Yeah, and you guys make a great couple." Eric said quickly.

"Yeah…I guess it's alright with me. We did agree to date other people."

"All right man. I just didn't want things to be weird with us."

"No problem."

Whitey came out and blew his whistle.

"All right, let's get started. We have a game as soon as we come back from the break, and we can use all the practice we can get!"

* * *

"It's crazy out there." Nathan said, getting into Lucas' car.

"Hell yeah. Hopefully we'll get some thunder and lightning later." Lucas grinned.

"You know, we must be the only people who get excited for thunderstorms."

"They're cool and you know it. So how was practice?"

Nathan shifted in his seat, and didn't respond.

"Nate?"

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, practice was…alright."

"Did Whitey give you a hard time again?"

"Not exactly. We didn't talk much one on one."

"Oh, it was just sucky?"

"Eric is going to ask Haley out."

"You're kidding me."

"I'm not. He asked me if it would bother me."

"That was cool of him. What did you say?"

"I said it was okay, duh. I'm dating Theresa." Nathan snapped.

"My bad. I was just thinking that it might be weird for you."

"Well it's not. Can you stop here?" Nathan said, gesturing towards the drugstore.

"Yeah…"

"Look, I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I'm just…tired."

"No big deal. You mind if I just sit in the car and call Brooke?"

"Yeah, I'll just be a minute." Nathan said quickly.

Lucas pulled out his cell phone and called Brooke.

"Hey Broody I was just thinking about you."

"Hey, did you hear about Haley and Eric?"

"He asked her out finally?"

"What do you mean, finally?"

"Well I told Haley like a week ago that she should start dating."

"Why?"

"So…she's not lonely and depressed?"

"But now Nathan seems upset."

"Really. How very interesting."

"Brooke…"

"Lucas…"

"I don't think we should interfere with Nathan and Haley, or Nathan and Theresa, or anything."

"We didn't. _I _just told Haley that she should start dating if Nathan was going to. How he reacts is up to him. I can't control it."

Lucas sighed.

"Nathan really likes Theresa."

"I know, but he was married to Haley."

"I just don't want any more drama than there already is."

"Baby, we live in Tree Hill. It's all about the drama." Brooke said.

Lucas laughed.

"I suppose you're right. Just…let's be supportive of whatever both of them want, alright?"

"You got it. So I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Dinner and the movie of your choice."

"Excellent deal. See you tomorrow, boyfriend. I love you."

"Love you too Cheery." Lucas said, hanging up.

He leaned back in his seat and waited several more minutes.

"Hurry up Nate…" He said out loud.

After waiting a few more minutes, Lucas decided to brave the rainstorm and look for Nathan.

* * *

Nathan was standing against a wall, looking down at the money in his hand. This seemed irrational to him. There had to be better ways of dealing, but he couldn't come up with any at the moment. Did he really want to do this? It would just be one more thing of pills, right? He just wanted to forget about what just happened in the gym, then he could go on tomorrow with Theresa like nothing had happened.

"Nathan?" Lucas said, finally finding him.

Nathan jumped. He hadn't realized he had been standing there for so long.

"What are you doing?"

"Look…I'm fine. You can go, I'll be alright."

"What's going on?"

"I'm…" Nathan couldn't bring himself to say it.

Lucas felt a sense of dread building up inside of him.

"Please…tell me you're not…"

"Lucas, wait."

"How long?" Lucas said, starting to lose it.

"How long what?"

"How long since you've gotten back have you been using? What happened? Why didn't you just talk to me about whatever it was?"

"Lucas, I haven't been doing drugs. I just…everything with Haley, I just want to move on, but everytime I try to…I can't..."

"Why? Why now? You have Theresa now, aren't you happy, doesn't she make you happy? Please…I can help you Nate. Just let me help you."

* * *

_Nathan sat on his bed, watching television. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to get comfortable with his knee propped up and wearing a cast. There was also the fact that Lucas had fallen asleep with his head on his shoulder._

_The bottle of painkillers was on his bedside table…just out of reach._

_"I don't need it…" He said to himself._

_Yet the anxiety building up inside him proved otherwise._

_Except under Lucas' weight, he couldn't turn to reach the bottle._

_He could wait until Lucas woke up. He wasn't that desperate. He would just sit here, watching television._

_Instead he moved out from under him and reached for the table._

_"Ouch." Lucas said shakily._

_Nathan put the bottle down and turned to Lucas. He didn't realize he had pushed that hard._

_"Head injury, Nate. Jeez." Lucas said, gently touching this cut on his forehead._

_"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Nathan said quickly, reaching over to Lucas._

_Lucas pulled away and started to get up._

_"Luke, I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to reach the table." Nathan said, pulling him back down._

_"It's okay." Lucas sighed_

_Lucas began to settle back on the pillows and closed his eyes._

_"Exhausted, are we?" Nathan grinned._

_"Yeah." Lucas yawned._

_Nathan watched him for a moment, just wishing he could tell Lucas about how guilty he felt, and about the fight he had with Haley, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had caused them both to get in a car accident and now Lucas was seriously hurt too. He just couldn't stop screwing up._

_"Are you sure you're okay?" Nathan asked quietly._

_"Don't worry about it." Lucas mumbled sleepily._

_As soon as Lucas was asleep, Nathan reached over and took two pills._

* * *

"You can't seriously be doing this." Lucas said in frustration.

"Look, just let me do this one thing. I'll be fine after that."

"No. I can't let you do this to yourself again." Lucas said, grabbing Nathan's arm.

Nathan felt something inside of him snap.

"You mean you can let me do this to _you._" Nathan said, shoving Lucas off him.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas shouted, brushing his now soaking hair out of his eyes.

"All you think about is how things affect YOU. What if I just need this once?"

"You don't need this Nate. You're stronger than that."

"Just…just shut up. Please. I don't need you to tell me that I'm stronger than this, or that I'll get through this. Just go home. I don't need you."

"Nathan, how did you slip again?"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Nathan screamed.

Lucas started to back away.

Then he changed his mind and ran forward, tackling Nathan to the ground with a surprising amount of force.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nathan asked, still in slight shock.

"Look familiar, Nate?"

"What-"

"It's raining…we're fighting…"

Nathan swallowed hard; this is exactly the sight that never left his mind while he was in rehab.

"Well at least you're not punching me." He said flippantly. He immediately regretted it.

"Just wait." Lucas muttered.

"We both know you wouldn't do it. In fact you _can't_ because-"

Nathan never finished his sentence because Lucas punched him hard across the jaw.

Nathan touched his face, pushed Lucas off of him, and spit out the small amount of blood that was in his mouth.

"Keep pushing me Nathan."

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that. So you're finally telling people how you really feel?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I always have to wait until you reach your breaking point to finally know what's really going on with you."

"I tell you stuff, what the hell are you talking about? You're the one who's never honest."

"Lucas-"

"I'm so sick of you right now!" Lucas fumed.

"Look, I'm sorry, it's just what I've been thinking."

"Whatever. You want to know what I really think? You piss me off. You have this amazing future in basketball, and you're going to turn to drugs and alcohol again to deal with your problems? That's what made you almost lose this chance before."

"Listen, it was just going to be one-"

"Is that what you said to yourself last time? Oh, it'll just be one extra pill. Well look how that turned out!"

"You've got to be kidding me. I thought we had moved past this."

"You're the one waiting to buy more Nate. Tell me why we're here, then."

"I don't know. I don't…I wasn't even sure I was going to buy them."

"You don't know? Well that's just great Nathan. I guess I'll just continue telling you why _I'm _here."

"Right. You were telling me why I piss you off."

"Well I can add the fact that you're a smartass to the list. You waste opportunities. Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be as gifted as you are? You are an amazing player, and you're doing so much better in school. Colleges want you; they're going to offer you scholarships. And you want to throw that away? I wish I had those kinds of opportunities. You never appreciate _anything._ You always complained about how life was unfair, how Dad used to push you-"

"Shut up! JUST SHUT UP! Now you've gone too far. Dad pushed me too hard; I took amphetamines and could've DIED just to please him! You may be right, I might take advantage of some opportunities, but don't ever tell me I wasn't justified in what I said about how Dad used to be. He was a nightmare, and you know it!"

"I'm sorry, what? How the hell would I know how Dad was, I didn't know either of you!"

"That's right, you didn't know. So shut the hell up, you freaking hypocrite. And don't even try to put the way we grew up all on me. It wasn't my fault."

"Yet you never failed to take the opportunity to throw it in my face, did you?" Lucas hissed.

Nathan clenched his fists, he was getting so frustrated.

"That's who I used to be. That's who Dad used to be. Well at least you and Dad are now close, right? He finally got the smart son, the one who always listens to him and does exactly what he says. Daddy's got himself a new little puppet."

"What the hell are you talking about Nathan? Is that how you really feel about Dad now? Is that what you think about me?"

"No, no, you're right. He isn't like that. But you're so afraid of screwing up in front of him, its ridiculous. You don't want to let anybody know how you feel, you're just so _scared _all the time of making someone mad." Nathan fumed.

Lucas didn't respond, but instead shoved Nathan back down on the ground. Nathan gasped as he was pushed into a freezing muddy puddle.

Lucas was still staring at him intensely.

"Nathan. You are so, so stupid. In the past few months, we were in a car accident, I watched you go off to rehab, I had a heart attack, my girlfriend dumped me for one night and I punched a wall, and now you're thinking about using again. It's all just _too much for me._ If anyone should be using some kind of substance to get over their problems, it should be ME. Did you honestly think it was a good idea to push me? Because I have news for you, I may have dropped the ball on keeping an eye on you the first around, but-"

Lucas leaned in really close as Nathan did his best to pull away.

"I'm watching you this time. Every single day." Lucas said so quietly, Nathan could barely hear it.

Nathan just stared.

"Well as long as you're shutting up, let me just tell you that unless you do in fact want me to be beating the crap out of you here, let's just get up and go home." Lucas sighed, standing up.

Nathan got up slowly and followed Lucas home.

They were both covered with mud, and soaking wet. When Nathan come downstairs after taking a shower, Lucas was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket. A book was open in his lap, but he wasn't even looking at it. When he saw Nathan coming, he furiously wiped away the tearstains on his cheeks.

Nathan looked at Lucas and was about to say something when Lucas coughed, quickly picked up his book and started reading.

Neither one could entirely wrap their mind around what had just happened before. All they knew was that once they had said everything that they'd ever wanted to say but were too afraid, they were having trouble coming up with anything.

Nathan watched as Lucas flipped through the pages without reading them. He continued doing this for a few more minutes. The pages flipping and the fire crackling were the only sounds in the otherwise silent house.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Lucas looked severely wounded by everything that had been said, and Nathan knew that he felt exactly the same. But how could he break the silence? What could make this right? They were both at fault, but neither one of them knew how to make it right.

While Nathan had been thinking about the situation, Lucas had buried his head in his arms

"Luke?" Nathan said quietly. He sounded like a little kid.

Lucas didn't respond, he just slammed his book shut and left the room.

"Lucas!" Nathan called as he ran after his brother.

Lucas turned around and sighed.

"Not now…please?" Lucas said, obviously tired and upset.

"I can't stand everything out in the open like that, and we haven't talked about it. We need to talk this through"

"I'm done talking for tonight." Lucas said, coughing again.

"You okay?" Nathan said, concerned. He moved towards Lucas.

"Fine…I'm just…" Lucas said, slowly backing away from Nathan and practically sprinting to his room.

Nathan sank down on the floor when he heard the door slam. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

Lucas was sitting in the exact same position, leaning against his door, and taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

* * *

The next morning, Deb and Dan noticed a change in the household. Lucas and Nathan barely spoke to each other like they usually did, and when they did speak, they were unnaturally polite to each other.

When they weren't speaking, they both looked devastated.

"Do you boys want anything else to eat?" Deb asked.

"No." They both said, excusing themselves and getting up from the table. Lucas hung back and let Nathan leave the room first and go up the stairs before he followed suit.

"That was extremely uncomfortable." Dan said.

"What do you think happened?"

"They had a fight." Dan sighed.

"Must've been terrible. They could barely look at each other."

"We should go talk to them." Dan said quickly, thinking about what Lucas had told him about how he felt about fighting with Nathan.

"Absolutely." Deb agreed.

"I'll go to Lucas, you talk to Nathan."

"Okay."

Dan softly knocked on Lucas' door and waited a moment before opening the door. Lucas was sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed.

"You want to talk about it?" Dan asked, coming over to his son.

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever happened with you and Nathan."

"I hit him. I yelled at him. I just completely lost it. He wanted to buy some more drugs, he said he just wanted to do it one more time, just to blow off steam. I just wanted to hit him so bad for being so _stupid_, so reckless. I ended up shoving him to the ground and screaming in his face. I just never expected him to yell back at me. I don't know why, I mean, he loves to argue." Lucas laughed in spite of himself.

"He…did he…"

"No, he was just upset about some stuff. Don't worry…I think I pretty much scared him away from going down that path again by showing him to the ground and telling him I was going to watch him like a hawk. At least I hope I did."

"Okay." Dan sighed with relief.

"I don't know, it was just…awful. We said horrible things to each other, and afterwards I was so embarrassed and so angry with him…now I just want to forget it ever happened."

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Dan said quietly.

"I can't! Not after all the stuff I said to him. It wasn't just me venting all my frustrations, I was just…outright horrible to him. And plus I hit him. He didn't even hit back." Lucas said, starting to choke up.

Dan pulled his son close as Lucas just let the tears fall.

"I just don't want him to go back to rehab." Lucas said quietly.

"He won't. He'll be okay. You two will make up." Dan reassured him.

* * *

Lucas was lying with his eyes closed on top of the picnic table at the Rivercourt listening to his iPod as Nathan walked up.

When he saw Nathan coming, he slowly sat up and pulled off his headphones.

"I don't know what to say, but one of us needs to say something or else we're both going to lose it." Nathan said, sitting down across from Lucas.

"We already did, didn't we?" Lucas said quietly, looking down.

"Yeah, we did."

"I don't know what to do anymore."

"I hate that this happened, Luke. It's so…"

"Uncomfortable." Lucas finished for him.

"Yeah."

"Nathan…what happened to us?"

"It was just a fight…"

"Do you really think that? Because I'm pretty sure it was a lot more than some disagreement."

"I want to."

"But it wasn't just a fight was it?"

"No…it was everything we hate about each other, out in the open."

"Yeah…I just…I …no…I can't do this right now. I'm sorry." Lucas said, picking up his stuff and walking away.

"Lucas…" Nathan said quietly.

**

* * *

Hmm…I was feeling kind of sadistic today (real life problems suck :) ) so I decided to screw around the boys a little bit. Well actually a _lot_, but we all know this story's about the brotherly love, yes? **

**Hmm…upcoming chapter(s)**

**-Some more of the newer couples (Nathan/Theresa and Eric/Haley) and of course a bit of our old favorites **

**-We'll see what Deb had to say to Nathan**

**-Wedding stuff for Karen/Andy  
**


	41. Chapter 41

**Thank you all for reading and for those who left me lovely reviews : ) **

**Heh. Note to self: Don't type up chapters while watching Scrubs. Just in case some of your sentences are half complete when you post the chapter and have to go back and edit. **

**

* * *

**

Despite Dan's advice, Lucas had been avoiding Nathan for three days. On his way to meet Brooke, he walked past Dan's home office when a hand reached out and pulled him inside.

"Nate, what the hell?"

"You're not leaving until we talk this through." Nathan said, locking the door and standing in front of it.

"You're not serious."

"I'm dead serious, Luke. It's been three days since we've really talked."

"Look, its just not that easy for me-"

"You know what Lucas? I don't give a damn if it's uncomfortable for you, because it's just as embarrassing for me, considering the fact that it was my own stupid mistake that caused all this."

"Yeah, it was."

"Listen to me, Lucas. I'm sorry that I said all that stuff to you. It wasn't fair and you didn't deserve it."

Lucas was speechless for a moment.

"You honestly think that's what I'm mad about."

"What-"

"I couldn't care less about the stupid crap you said to me once we started screaming at each other. It's the same petty crap you used to say to me all the time last year. I don't give a damn about that. I just let those things go."

"Then why-"

"You can't honestly be that stupid Nate. I'm pissed because I found you in the streets, contemplating whether or not you should get a nice baggie of pills to forget your problems with!"

"That was a mistake, but I didn't-"

"But you could've Nathan! You could've made the decision to go down that road again, and I would have to watch as you went back to rehab and throw away your entire future again."

"Oh, great its all about you again." Nathan said, starting to get really pissed off.

"This isn't even about me. Forget I mentioned my reaction to this. How about your mom, who cried for days because she saw you making the exact same mistakes that she did. _Exactly the same. _Or maybe Dad? And how he started to question his parenting because his son went off to rehab? This is the kind of stuff that Andy was planning to use to prove in court that Dad wasn't a fit parent! Did you think about any of that? No, because you were too selfish and too stupid to think about anybody else, you only thought about yourself! So yes, Nathan it would've sucked for me to see you do this again, but you don't seem to realize how many other people besides me you'd be hurting."

"Well, none of that matters, because _I already told you I'm not doing that again._"

"It does matter, Nathan. Look, I know you were a bit weirded out by Haley going out with Eric. But you told her you wanted to move on, and now you did with Theresa, so you should just-"

"You know what? Wherever you were going, just go. I don't know why I bothered trying to apologize to you. You just have to do one of your self righteous rants every time I do."

"Ouch Nathan. Does this mean we're not brothers anymore?"

"Just go." Nathan said angrily.

"Fine." Lucas snapped, opening the door and leaving Nathan alone.

* * *

"Are we alone?" Nathan asked Theresa as they sat down in her living room.

"Yeah…"

"Okay." Nathan said, picking up a pillow and screaming into it.

"That was attractive." Theresa said, grinning.

"You think so?" Nathan said, laughing for the first time that day.

"I take it you and Lucas still haven't made up."

"No, and I think we made it worse this morning."

"What happened in the first place?"

"It's a whole crazy thing, we just started off arguing about one thing, but somehow that led us to bringing up a whole bunch of old or repressed issues."

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I know how close you two are."

"Yeah…I just want us to be that way again."

* * *

"I swear I'm going to punch him again soon." Lucas fumed as he walked into Brooke's apartment.

"Hi baby, how are you?" Brooke said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. He just freaking cornered me on my way over here, and when I try to make sense of what happens, he gets all mad again and tells me to go away! I swear, I don't understand him anymore. I really don't. I don't know what happened."

"Listen…let's go back to your mom's. We can spend the day together."

"I swear, I have never been this happy for it to be a week at my mom's."

"Lucas!"

"No, it's not like that. I just don't usually look forward to spending time at one house over the other."

"I know this sucks for you."

"Yeah. But forget about it. We have to find out my mom's wedding plans."

"Oh my gosh, I love weddings!" Brooke said, getting up and laughing.

"Yes, yes I know." Lucas teased.

"Shut up you know you're excited."

"I am," Lucas said, smiling and grabbing her hand as they left, "I really am."

* * *

"Okay so Haley, Brooke, you're going to be standing right here." Karen said, pointing out the locations in the church.

"And Broody here will be my escort?" Brooke said, smiling and linking her arm through Lucas.

"Actually, no. I was hoping…he'd be my escort." Karen said.

"Really?" Lucas asked, smiling.

"Of course."

"I'd be happy to, Mom."

"I'm so glad." Karen said.

"That's so cute." Haley said.

"So Haley, is your new boyfriend coming?" Brooke asked as Karen and Andy walked away.

"I'm not sure, I mean we're taking things slow. It might seem weird, inviting him to a wedding when we've only gone out a few times."

"Well you never know about weddings, it helped to spark a little something-something between me and Lucas." Brooke said, wrapping her arm around Lucas tighter.

Lucas hugged her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Karen? What color dresses are we wearing?" Brooke asked.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Mom, the wedding is coming up soon." Lucas said.

"Yeah, what if you can't get the ones you want?" Brooke asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Andy said, joining the group.

"So Andy, who's your best man?" Lucas asked.

"My best friend Tom is flying in. I haven't seen him in ages, I can't wait."

"That's great." Brooke said.

"And Karen, who is your maid of honor?" Haley asked.

"I was thinking about asking Deb."

"Really?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…we've gotten to be good friends. She's helped me out so much over the past year or so."

"I think that sounds great." Lucas nodded.

"Oh, I am so excited!" Brooke exclaimed, grabbing Lucas' hand and leading him towards the front of the church.

"Oh boy." Haley laughed.

* * *

Nathan grabbed his keys and headed out the door as Lucas came inside.

"I thought you were at your mom's." Nathan said quickly.

"Just needed to grab some stuff for school."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Lucas said, turning and heading upstairs.

Nathan sighed and started to head outside, but he realized that in his brother's hurry to get his stuff, he had blocked Nathan in the driveway.

Lucas quickly grabbed the textbook and binder he needed for school and dropped a novel into his backpack along with it. Then he put his hands on the window and leaned against it, staring out.

After a few minutes of silence, Nathan came up and tentatively knocked on the door.

"What?" Lucas asked, not turning around.

"Um, you need to move your car so I can pull out."

"Fine." Lucas sighed, grabbing his heads and brushing past Nathan.

"Look, Lucas, this morning sucked. The other day sucked. Can't we please just talk about it?" Nathan asked, chasing after him.

"We tried that. Apparently it doesn't work anymore for us." Lucas snapped.

"I don't know what to do either. We both just need to chill out before we try this out again."

"Whatever."

"Why are you being like this? I just want to make this right."

Lucas sighed.

"The other day…was just humiliating."

"Why?" Nathan asked, not expecting to hear that.

"Because now you know that all this crap from the past still bothers me, you know how stressed out I've been, and I was just worried about you, Nathan."

"You think I was going to use any of that stuff against you? I just wish you had told me that you felt that way sooner."

"I didn't want there to be any problems between us."

"Well now there is a huge problem between us."

"There are a lot of them."

"But still, we need to talk about this."

"Yeah…it would be easier if I didn't have the picture of punching you in the face in my mind."

"I'm fine, Lucas. It was just a little swollen."

"That's not really what I meant."

"I know." Nathan sighed.

"I'll move my car. You have a date, don't you?"

"Dammit. Yeah, and now I'm probably late."

"Other priorities now." Lucas said quietly.

"Yeah…"

"Look, we'll talk later. Call me sometime this week, maybe it would be easier over the phone."

"You think?"

"Maybe."

"Hey Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't really mean it this morning, the whole 'not brothers' crack. I mean I know you were making fun of what I said last June, but still."

"It was stupid. I didn't mean it."

"You know, back then…I didn't really mean it either."

"I know, Nate." Lucas said, giving his brother a small smile.

**

* * *

**

**See? It's a start. They (and by they, I mean I) will make sense of it all very soon. Don't worry, the brotherly love is comin' back. How I love the brotherly love. **

**Please read and review! **

**Hmm upcoming chapter(s)…upcoming stuff and also, some things to ponder… **

**-What will Nathan do when Haley and Eric get a little more serious? **

**-Karen, Andy and Lucas making final wedding arrangements and working on becoming more of a family **

**-Hee…what will Dan think about that? **

**-A lovely "guys weekend" **

**You know, stuff like that : ) **


	42. Chapter 42

**Thanks for reading/reviewing the last chapter!**

**I love the brotherly love, and this whole chapter is pretty much Lucas and Nathan talking about their fight, and also their relationship as a whole.**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

Lucas walked into Nathan's room, where Nathan was sitting on the floor and watching TV. Lucas quietly walked over and plopped down next to him.

"Are we speaking now? Look I know I didn't really call you while you were away, but I figured, a week apart could help us clear our minds and chill out" Nathan said tentatively.

"Yeah." Lucas said, smiling and staring straight ahead at the TV.

Nathan smiled too and put his arm around his brother.

"So the extra politeness thing stops now?"

"Absolutely. Too much work for me."

"Nice."

"So I know we talked and everything last week, but are we cool?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm cool. You never have been and never will be."

"Bye." Lucas laughed, starting to get up.

"Uh huh, yeah." Nathan said, pulling him back down.

"So what are you up to tonight?"

"I was kind of hoping we could hang out, just the two of us."

"Sounds good."

"Okay…good."

"What did you have in mind?"

"No idea. But I kind of want to head to the beach."

"Its nighttime."

"Good point. I don't know."

"Hey boys, we forgot about this dinner thing. We have to head up there and it will end late so we'll be staying in the hotel." Deb said, standing in the doorway.

"That business thing?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah."

"My mom and Andy are going too."

"Oh that's nice."

"Will Dad be happy about that?" Nathan asked.

Lucas smiled a little.

"We'll see. But you two will be okay until tomorrow afternoon?"

"Can we go to the beach house?" Nathan asked.

"Why?" Deb asked.

"Guys weekend."

"That sounds good." Deb said, smiling.

"Deb we better go." Dan said as he walked in the room.

"Have fun." Lucas said.

"You too. Be good." Deb said.

"We'll be back tomorrow, and then we can all go out for dinner." Dan said.

"Great." Nathan said.

"Bye." Deb said, following Dan.

"Sweet. Let's go." Nathan said, pulling Lucas up and pushing him across the hall.

"Why so forceful?"

"I don't know. Pack." Nathan said, grinning and running back into his room.

* * *

"Ahh the beach." Nathan said as he and Lucas stood on the deck.

"It's dark and it's cold."

"You're bringing down the mood a bit here, Luke."

"My bad."

"Okay…so I just kind of wanted to have this weekend for us. You know without any outside…conflicts."

"Me too."

"How did it get like this? We were doing so well."

"It was just a slip up..."

"I don't ever want to feel like I did that day."

"It was such a crappy day."

"I want so bad to move past it."

"Want to?"

"Well you know…"

"There's just so much buried there still. Well actually not anymore. I pretty much let everything out."

"I had no idea you were feeling all those things. Why didn't you ever talk to me about it?"

"It didn't seem right. Just to randomly unleash all these past issues on you?"

"It would've been random, but I would've like to know that you didn't still resent me."

"I don't resent you."

"It's okay if you do. I used to treat you like crap. That's just what I thought I was supposed to do. I was just doing it because that's what Dad had more or less taught me to do."

Lucas swallowed hard, not expecting Nathan to be so candid.

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry. That came out a lot more harsh than I wanted it to."

"It's okay. It's not like it's anything new to me."

"I wish it never happened."

"Me too. But we're here now."

"Yeah. We're here now."

"I'm just so tired." Lucas sighed.

"What?"

"I'm tired of all this emotional baggage and all this crap that keeps happening."

"I know what you mean." Nathan nodded.

"Nate, I'm sorry for the way I handled things the other day. Sure I was pissed off, but it didn't mean I should've hit you and yelled at you like that. I never handled the whole situation with you well."

"Thank you. It's okay."

"Good."

"I'm sorry for everything I said too. I was being selfish, and I just got embarrassed that you caught me. I didn't mean anything I said, about you being Dad's puppet or anything I said." Nathan said sadly.

"It's okay."

"I'm also just sorry…about everything."

"Me too." Lucas said.

"I think we needed that."

"Yeah…"

"Are we good?"

"I think we can move past it."

"Good." Nathan said, sticking out his hand.

Lucas slapped hands with him and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you little brother."

"You too."

"So what do we do now?" Lucas laughed.

"Wanna go in the water?" Nathan teased.

"I'll pass. I think I'm getting a cold or something anyways. Next idea?" Lucas said before breaking into a coughing fit.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just a cold or the flu. Probably all that fun we had out in the rain."

"Jeez. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, fine. So what do you want to do?"

"I'm starving actually. You want to order a pizza?"

"Yeah."

"Hey Nate?" Lucas said as they walked inside.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry it took me so long to be able to talk through this."

"Why did it?"

"I was just…really embarrassed about being so out in the open…and also I just felt really bad about the way I treated you that day."

"Oh…well its all good now."

"Good."

* * *

Nathan woke up in the middle of the night when he heard Lucas having a fit in across the room from him.

Lucas was coughing in his sleep, but as Nathan pulled himself up, Lucas inhaled sharply and grabbed his side.

"Luke?" Nathan said, getting up and running over as Lucas tried to sit up.

"Ow…ow…ow" Lucas said as Nathan sat down.

"What happened?"

"I think I cracked a rib." Lucas said, taking short breaths and leaning his head back against Nathan's shoulder.

"What? How?"

"I don't know…ow…dammit it really hurts." Lucas winced.

"Okay, we gotta go to the doctors."

"Yeah." Lucas said, trying to catch his breath.

"Here we go…" Nathan said, standing up and slowly helping Lucas up.

They sat in the waiting room, Lucas still having trouble breathing and clutching his side. Nathan sat with his arm tightly around him, trying to do anything to make him forget the pain he was in.

"When do we go in?" Lucas asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know, we just have to wait." Nathan said quietly.

"I cant stand-" Lucas said, breaking off mid sentence in a coughing fit.

Nathan felt terrible, knowing that coughing was probably aggravating whatever injury Lucas had.

"It's okay, you're okay." Nathan said, trying to calm him down.

Lucas finally stopped, taking rapid breaths.

"You okay?" Nathan asked.

"Blood." Lucas managed to say.

"What?" Nathan asked, trying to get Lucas to face him.

"Blood. There's blood."

"Oh my God." Nathan said, seeing that when Lucas had been covering his mouth, there were flecks of blood on his hand.

"Yeah…" Lucas said.

"I need some help!" Nathan hollered.

**

* * *

CLIFFHANGER!**

**Teeheehee. **

**Yeah, so I had a bit of writers block, but this evil scene kept popping in my head so I decided to write it  **

**Heh, I think I said last chapter that the "guys weekend" would be lovely…well they made up didn't they? The next chapter, those other storylines I mentioned shall begin! Whee**

**As always, please read and review!**


	43. Chapter 43

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Yes, cliffies are mean, I guess I was just in the mood for one after watching the finale : ) **

**The whole cracked rib/coughing thing is based on a true story, it happened to someone I know. However, I added the coughing up blood as another symptom : ) It's fun to have drama. **

**I also changed one of the scenes. Take a guess at which one heehee**

**Enjoy! **

**

* * *

**

Lucas was still hunched over, gasping and trying to catch his breath.

"Don't worry…you'll be fine…I need some help! Coughing up blood over here!" Nathan shouted.

"Follow me." A medical intern said, running over with another doctor and helping Nathan to pull Lucas up.

"I need a towel or something!" The intern called, taking one from the nurse.

"Here." She handed it to Nathan.

"What is this for?"

"In case he coughs up anymore blood."

Lucas weakly reached out for the towel, and closed his eyes tight as he coughed some more.

"Hang on Luke…" Nathan said, helping him to sit.

"Uh huh…" Lucas mumbled.

"Okay…fever of 101.1…shortness of breath?" The doctor asked.

Lucas nodded.

"And you woke up coughing?"

Lucas nodded again. He didn't want to talk much in case he had to cough again.

"Okay. Your symptoms indicate pneumonia. We will run some tests to make sure."

"He's going to be okay, right?" Nathan asked the doctor, placing his hand on Lucas' back.

"I believe so. Once we run tests, we should be able to prescribe antibiotics."

"But why the blood?" Lucas asked.

"It seems scary yes, but it's really just another symptom."

"So I'll be okay?"

"Yes, I want to run tests to make sure."

"Did he break his rib or what?" Nathan asked.

"It seems like he did crack it, probably from the strain of the coughing. We'll have to do an X-ray."

"It's weird though, isn't it?" Lucas asked, wincing a little.

"It is a bit on the unusual side, but it's not unheard of." The doctor assured him.

"Okay. Can I go home after the tests?"

"I don't see why not. Just make sure you rest."

Nathan glanced at his brother, sensing he wasn't up for much more conversation.

"What should we do besides rest? I mean for the rib?"

"I'm afraid there's not much else one can do except to let him rest."

"Okay." Lucas sighed.

"Well if you feel a more intense pain, give me a call, I could prescribe some painkillers-"

"No. That's okay." Lucas said firmly.

"Alright then. Just keep me updated in a week or so. Now Lucas I want you to just lie down and rest until I come back. You're going to be fine, but that was a lot of stress on your body and we have to think about-"

"My heart?" Lucas guessed.

"Yes." The doctor said.

"Okay. Thanks." Nathan said.

"I'll be right back for some tests." The doctor said, and left.

"I'm freezing." Lucas said, shivering.

"Here. Better?" Nathan said, picking up an extra blanket from across the room and gave it to Lucas.

"Better." Lucas nodded sleepily

"Good." Nathan said, sitting down a chair nearby.

"I want to go home."

"I know, we will soon."

"Okay." Lucas sighed.

"Try to take it easy."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You were coughing up blood."

"Not the point."

"It has to be part of the point."

"Nuh uh."

'Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

"You're mean when you're sick."

"I know. Last time I just took it out on your car though."

"Lucky me."

* * *

"This is nice…a weekend away." Dan said as he and Deb got ready for bed.

"Definitely. So do you think we'll have a house when we get back?"

"Well they did go to the beach house so we'll at least have the main house." Dan pointed out.

"Good point."

"Speaking of which." Dan said as his cell phone flashed Nathan's number.

"Dan." Deb scolded gently.

"What? We left the boys alone for the night." Dan pointed out as he answered his phone.

"Good point." Deb said again.

"Wait, Nate…okay I can hear you now."

"Good. Um, were on our way home from the doctors. Lucas has pneumonia."

"What? How do you know?"

"Well he was coughing like crazy, and he cracked a rib."

"What? Is that normal?"

"The doctor said it isn't normal, but it isn't unheard of."

"Okay, we'll be home in about an hour and a half."

"No, no it's fine. We're just going home and going to bed. I'll take care of it."

"Nathan…"

"No. Don't worry, he'll still be here when you get back tomorrow afternoon. We'll be fine. I promise."

"You're sure?"

"I am. Talk to Luke, he's being bitchy."

"I am not." Lucas said as he took the phone from Nathan.

"Nathan says you are." Dan teased.

"He just keeps making these sudden stops and I'm in pain." Lucas whined.

"But you're okay? Do you want us to come home?"

"Nah, I'm okay I just want to go to sleep."

"How on earth did you get pneumonia?"

"I guess from being out in the rain?"

"Oh. Jeez."

"Yeah…"

* * *

Nathan sat in a chair as Lucas slept. The doctor said several times he would be fine, but he had seen his brother cough up blood. He was worried.

The phone ringing jolted Nathan out of his trance.

He quickly got up and got the phone, so he wouldn't wake up Lucas.

"Hello?" Nathan said quietly.

"Why are we so quiet?" Brooke asked.

"I'm just trying not to wake up Lucas." Nathan said, taking the phone into the next room.

"You two are so lazy, even _I _don't sleep until noon."

"Well we didn't get home until like 6:00 this morning."

"Out late partying? Without me?"

"Of course."

"Seriously though, what did you do last night?"

"Lucas woke up in the middle of the night, coughing like crazy. He could barely sit up, because he cracked a rib or something from the strain of it all."

"Is he okay?" Brooke gasped.

"Yeah he's fine, we just got really scared. Neither of us knew how to deal with pneumonia, and he like cracked a _rib_ so it seemed pretty intense, and then when we were in the waiting room he freaking coughed up blood."

"What?"

"But he's okay. It just happens sometimes, the doctor said."

"Wow…"

"Yeah…so I'll just tell him to call you later."

"Okay. You sound tired too."

"I only slept for like 2 hours before we went to the doctors."

"You stayed up with Lucas?"

"I didn't want anything else to happen."

"That's sweet. Well, just tell Luke to feel better and I'll call him later."

"Okay. Bye Brooke."

"Bye."

Almost instantly, the phone rang again.

"Damn." Nathan sighed as he picked up the phone again.

"Hello?"

"Sup Nate." Jake said.

"Hey Jake."

"So word on the street is that your parents were out of town and you didn't even throw a party? Get Lucas on the phone so I can lecture you on what you do when parents are out of town."

"You know one time I had a party without parental supervision and I ended up in jail."

"Well that's unfortunate."

"Yeah."

"So anyways, you and Luke want to do something today?"

"I don't know…Luke is still sleeping."

"Sheesh."

"We didn't get home until early this morning."

"Doing what?"

"Well we were at the beach house, and Lucas wakes up in the middle night, having some kind of coughing fit and he has this sharp pain in his side. Turns out the coughing made him crack one of his ribs."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. So we get to the doctors and they make us wait forever. Meanwhile, Lucas starts coughing up blood, so that hurried them along a bit at least."

"He was coughing up blood? Is he okay?"

"Yeah…he has pneumonia or something, and apparently that happens."

"That's scary."

"Yeah, trust me, I was freaking out."

"Poor guy."

"I know."

"Nate?" Lucas called from the living room.

"Hey, I got to go, but you wanna come up here?"

"Sure, I'll be around in a bit. I might have to cover for someone at the café at like 2:00."

"Great. You can entertain us."

"I'll do my best."

"See you soon." Nathan said, hanging up.

"Hey." Lucas said quietly as Nathan came towards him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"It hurts to breathe."

"That good, huh?"

"Absolutely."

"Hey, so Jake is coming over."

"Cool."

"And Brooke called. She said she'll call you later and to feel better."

"Okay." Lucas said, trying to sit up.

"Here, I got you." Nathan said, helping him up.

"I hate everything." Lucas complained.

"That's sad." Nathan laughed.

Lucas smiled too, then he leaned back on the couch.

"I'm beat." Nathan said.

"You didn't sleep at all did you?"

"Only the two hours before we went to the doctors."

"You didn't have to stay up with me."

"I just wanted to make sure you would be okay."

"Thanks, Nate."

"Anytime."

* * *

"I think he was awake for a grand total of 17 minutes before he crashed again." Nathan said, putting another blanket on top of his brother.

"Pneumonia sucks." Jake said.

"I bet." Nathan said, following Jake into the kitchen.

"So what should we do?"

"No idea. By the way, where's Jenny?"

"Peyton and Brooke took her out for the day."

"Cool."

"Yeah."

"You want a drink or something?" Nathan asked, taking a bottle of Gatorade out of the refrigerator.

"Nah, I'm good. You might want to try coffee or something."

"Huh?"

"You really need to get some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Two hours of sleep, lots of stress…it isn't good Nate. Look if you're really worried, I'll keep an eye on Lucas if you want to get some sleep."

"I'll be okay, I just need to relax for the day. Luckily its Saturday."

"True…"

"I'll be fine. Here, go in the living room and put on MTV, and if it makes you happy I will make coffee."

"As you wish."

Lucas started to stir when Jake walked back into the room and sat down in the chair across the room.

"Morning sleeping beauty. Or actually it's 12:30, but you know what I meant."

"Uh huh." Lucas mumbled.

"Didn't sleep well?"

"You know, funny enough, I didn't? The breaking of the ribs and coughing up blood got in the way."

"Pesky symptoms."

"Exactly."

"So how you feeling man? Pretty intense stuff."

"Yeah…"

"You feeling alright?"

"Better…still hurts when I inhale. And exhale."

"That sucks, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. That's why I've been trying to sleep it off."

"Hey make sure your little brother tries that too."

"I told him to go to sleep, but he worries like crazy."

"I do not!" Nathan called from the kitchen.

"Do too!" Jake called back.

"Yeah whatever." Nathan said, handing Jake some coffee and sitting down beside Lucas with his own cup.

"Share." Lucas said, reaching out.

"Knock yourself out." Nathan said, opening the bottle of Gatorade he had in his other hand.

"Crap." Jake said as his cell phone rang.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"Jake hates ringing phones." Nathan joked

Lucas chuckled as Jake rolled his eyes and flipped open his phone.

"You need me when? Okay…yeah…uh huh…I'll be right there." Jake said and hung up.

"Jenny?" Lucas asked.

"No…I have to cover someone's shift at the café."

"Okay. Later man." Nathan said.

"Yeah. You two just chill for the day, okay?"

"We will." Lucas said.

"Bye!" Jake called as he headed out the door.

"I'm going back to sleep." Lucas mumbled.

"Okay. I'll be here."

"You sleep too."

"I'm fine."

"Sit here…if I cough up any more blood or break any more bones, I'll kick you. Alright?"

"But…"

"I'm your big brother, you have to listen to me."

"Fine." Nathan sighed.

* * *

A couple hours later, Deb and Dan came into the living room to find both boys fast asleep.

"Our house is still standing." Deb said lightly.

"Well apparently they were too tired to get into any more trouble." Dan said.

"Nathan?" Deb said, walking over and gently waking up Nathan.

"Huh?" Nathan yawned.

"We're back. Tired, huh?"

"Late night."

"You did good." Dan said, feeling Lucas' forehead.

"He's doing better I think."

"I am." Lucas mumbled.

"Still hurts?" Dan asked.

"Only when I breathe."

"But you want to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. You get some rest. Both of you." Dan said, glancing at Nathan.

"Oh, we will." Nathan sighed, closing his eyes.

* * *

A week later, Lucas went back to Karen's. Nathan led Lucas up the driveway to Karen's house.

"Ow! That would be where I have a broken rib Nate." Lucas said, trying to pull out of Nathan's grasp.

"Sorry. I'm trying to help you walk here, dumbass." Nathan laughed.

"It's okay."

"Bitch."

"I love you too."

"Uh huh."

"Oh Lucas, how are you feeling?" Karen said, opening the door before they could even knock.

"Better." Lucas said.

"Up or downstairs?" Nathan asked.

"Um…down, my mom wants to show me all the final stuff for the wedding."

"Just three weeks away." Karen said excitedly.

"Yeah." Nathan smiled.

"And you and your parents are coming?"

"Yeah…its nice that you wanted Dad to come too."

"He's trying now, I can appreciate that."

"We all can." Lucas smiled.

"We call can what?" Andy asked, walking into the room.

"Trust my dad's efforts." Lucas said.

"Right Andy?" Karen asked.

"I'll try." Andy nodded.

"Thanks." Lucas said.

"Of course." Andy said, then he stared at Lucas for a moment, who was still being held up by Nathan.

"I'm his crutches." Nathan explained.

"Interesting." Andy laughed.

"Okay…I have to get going." Nathan said, walking Lucas over to a chair so he could sit.

"Hot date?" Lucas raised his eyebrows.

"Yep. After hanging with you all week, Theresa and I are finally hanging out."

"Sorry for taking up all your time." Lucas smiled.

"It was good." Nathan said, patting him on the shoulder.

"See ya." Lucas said.

"Bye. Feel better."

"Thanks."

"Bye!" Nathan called to Karen and Andy.

"Bye!" They called as he left.

* * *

"How's he doing?" Dan asked as Nathan walked into the kitchen.

"Good. He was excited about all the wedding stuff."

"Oh. That's good."

"It's good that you're coming, Dad."

"Yeah…well…"

"Maybe you'll end up friends?" Nathan asked.

"We'll just see how the 26th goes, Nate. Then we'll go on from there."

"Okay." Nathan laughed.

"So what are your plans for tonight?"

"Date."

"With Theresa?"

"Yeah. Who else?"

"Well…I thought with that whole…incident…a couple weeks back meant that you weren't so sure about her."

"I like her. A lot. Haley dating again just threw me a little."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Nathan said firmly.

"Okay."

"I have to get ready. I'm running late." Nathan said, glancing at the clock and running up to his room.

**

* * *

**

**There we go. Longer chapter : ) **

**Please read and review! **


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello all, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Hee. I let my girlishness seep through and kind of emasculated the boys, yes? I'll definitely work on that. Made me laugh though when people pointed out that. Silly Bubblz.**

**I went back and changed up the last chapter a bit. Thanks to Viea for her idea : ) **

**I apologize if this is a bit on the short side, but finals are coming up and I wanted to post something before things got too hectic.**

* * *

"Hey can you go in my room and tell me if my iPod is on my desk?" Lucas asked.

Nathan switched the phone from one hand to another and went across the hallway.

"Nope, don't see it."

"Hmm…"

"Sorry."

"It's probably around here somewhere. So what are you up to this weekend?"

"Nothing. I'm grounded."

"What did you do?"

"I was playing basketball in the driveway and I shattered a window."

"You did not!" Lucas said in disbelief.

"I have never done that before all these years. Dad was majorly pissed off at me."

"I bet. So what's the punishment?"

"Grounded for this weekend and I have to pay for the replacement."

"That's not too bad."

"I guess not."

"Nathan, what are you doing on the phone?" Lucas heard Dan ask.

"Luke called."

"Hi Dad!" Lucas said loudly.

"Hi Luke. Listen your brother has to go and figure out a way to pay for a new window."

"Good luck. See you Friday." Lucas said and hung up.

"So Broody, excited for the wedding?" Brooke asked, coming over and sitting on Lucas' lap.

"Yeah, it's going to be great."

"I love weddings." Brooke said excitedly.

"Really? I had no idea." Lucas teased.

"Haha. So what's up with Nathan?"

"He broke our garage window."

"Sheesh."

"Yeah. Apparently Dad's not too happy."

"Poor Nate."

"Yeah."

"Yeah. So are you done calling people?"

"Definitely. What should we do?"

"Well I promised Haley that we'd meet her and Eric for a movie."

"Okay."

"Or we could just make out." Brooke said.

"Also okay." Lucas grinned.

"Yeah but I promised Haley." Brooke sighed.

Lucas laughed and took her face in his hands, kissing her.

She leaned into him and deepened the kiss, until she broke away and laughed nervously.

"Very sneaky, Lucas."

"It was worthy a try." Lucas laughed.

"Uh huh. We'll have time for that later." Brooke said, standing up and taking Lucas' hand.

* * *

"I'm a dumbass." Nathan complained as Lucas unpacked his stuff in his room a week later.

"What's wrong?"

"I broke the damn window." Nathan sighed.

"Not to be mean, but what's the big deal? Its just one full weekend you couldn't go out."

"Yeah but I felt bad about not being able to do anything with Theresa. I mean the whole relationship is in such a weird situation and I just want to show her that I care about her."

"She knows, Nate."

"I just don't want to screw something else up. I've been screwing up a lot this year."

"We all screw up."

"I don't want to be testing any more limits, you know?"

"Yeah…I know. Hey you know what? I'll call Brooke and cancel our date. We can just hang out here tonight."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to. Our guy's weekend got screwed up before."

"True…are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Just give me a second."

"Okay. I'm going to get something to eat."

"I'll meet you downstairs."

Lucas dialed Brooke's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hey."

"Hey Brooke. Listen, I'm really sorry…but Nate is grounded and he's really bummed so…"

"You want to cancel." Brooke said dully.

"I'm really sorry. We never really got a chance to hang out since I got sick the last time I was here."

"Yeah…"

"Is it okay?"

"I don't know…"

"I feel really bad about this. I don't know, do you want to come over here maybe? I don't know…"

"Then I would be intruding on your plans."

Lucas didn't know what to say, he just bit his lip and sighed.

"Two weeks ago you told me that you would be hanging out with Nathan all weekend and I accepted it."

"But I got sick and-"

"Yeah, so last week when we went out with Haley and Eric? Was that just because Nathan wasn't available?"

"Brooke come on, that's not fair."

"I don't Lucas…this just really bothers me."

"You have to believe that when we are together, it's because I want to spend time with you. Not because someone better wasn't available, because I honestly believe there is nobody better to be with than you."

"Really?"

"Of course. It's just one date, Brooke. No big deal."

"It is to me, Lucas."

"Why?"

"You and Nathan spend too much time together." Brooke said suddenly.

"What?"

"It's true. Everyone thinks so. You do almost everything together."

"He's my brother. Hell, he's my best friend. So what if we spend a lot of time together? A lot of the time we're with Jake or the guys from the team too."

"Look if it's that important to you, we can just take a break."

"What? I never said I wanted that!"

"I think it might be good."

"I don't want that at all Brooke."

"You may not want it, but I think we need it. We need to figure out our priorities."

"It's just one date Brooke, you're totally overreacting!"

"I am not overreacting. Look, just go be with your brother and we can talk later."

"Brooke…"

"It might be good."

"I don't want to." Lucas said almost inaudibly.

"Let's just try it." Brooke said softly.

"But-"

"We'll talk later." Brooke said, hanging up.

Lucas stared at the phone in his hands, stunned.

"Luke?" Nathan called up the stairs.

"Coming." He replied hollowly.

"Was Brooke bummed?"

"Kind of." Lucas lied.

"I'll tell her I'm sorry at school Monday."

"Me too." Lucas said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay well how about I kick your ass at the video game of your choice?" Nathan grinned.

"You wish." Lucas said, smiling weakly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yup. I'm great." Lucas lied again.

* * *

"Wow. I know I usually win, but damn you sucked tonight Luke." Nathan said as they headed up the stairs.

"Haven't played in awhile." Lucas said dully.

"Look, Lucas…I know you weren't completely here tonight."

"Huh?"

"You have been out of it all night and you barely said anything. You spaced out so many times."

"Um…"

"So I'm going to guess that the reason you were on the phone so long is that Brooke wasn't too happy about you canceling and the conversation didn't end well."

"Good guess."

"How bad was it?"

"She said we spend too much time together."

"I remember that from that fateful night at Tric."

"Oh yeah…I just thought it was something she just said she was mad that night. I didn't realize she really meant it."

"I guess she did."

"She wants to take a break."

"What?"

"I don't know. I guess she's mad that in the past month, I've only spent one weekend with her. I don't know anymore."

"Luke, you need to talk to her. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I wouldn't have kept you here all night playing some stupid video game if I knew it was that bad."

"It's not your fault."

"I complained about not being to go out and you decided to stay here with me and Brooke got mad."

"I should've known how to handle it better. She was right. I don't know how she feels anymore. When the hell did I become such a selfish jackass?"

"You just spent your Friday night with me because I was bored when you could be out having real fun. You are not selfish."

"Well I completely dismissed her feelings. Dammit. What the hell am I doing?"

"Just talk to her. Tell her how bored you were tonight." Nathan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I wasn't bored. Just distracted."

"Call her tomorrow and talk it out. You guys will be fine."

"You think so?"

"I'm sure of it." Nathan said, patting his brother on the shoulder encouragingly.

**

* * *

****Heehee. I feel like bringing on lots of angst. Especially for Nathan, he needs some drama.**

**I also started writing the chapter with the wedding, but it might actually come into play for another couple of chapters. First angst, then ze happy. **

**Yes, I'll shut up now. I haven't forgotten the stuff I mentioned in other chapters as upcoming events :) **

**Please leave me a review!**


	45. Chapter 45

**School just needs to end. Like, now. To all those who are free, you're lucky…and I hate you : ) Thanks for all the well wishes on my finals. I will most definitely need them.**

* * *

"I think you should go talk to your son." Deb said to Dan early Saturday morning.

"Which one?"

"The one who woke up at 6:00 and has been staring at a bowl of Fruity Pebbles while watching cartoons ever since."

"Nathan?"

"Actually, no."

"Lucas? That doesn't sound like him."

"I don't know. All I know is that Nathan told me that Lucas and Brooke broke up or are on a break."

"Oh boy." Dan sighed.

"Lucas?" Dan said, sitting down next to Lucas and taking the uneaten bowl of cereal out of his son's hands.

"Hi." Lucas said listlessly.

"Nathan told me what happened. Are you okay?"

Lucas remained silent for a moment, during which Dan got a good look at his oldest son. He wasn't smiling like he usually did when he stayed with Dan. Dan always thought that Lucas let himself be a little less serious when he was at his house. Probably because of Nathan.

"Do you think we spend too much time together?"

"Who?"

"Me and Nate."

"Oh. I don't know. I really don't know how to tell."

"Why?"

"Well Keith and I haven't really been close in a long time."

"He's been gone for months."

"I know, but I was talking about when we were kids."

"Oh."

"I'll tell you what though, when we were really young we were inseparable."

"What happened?"

"I became a jackass." Dan said simply.

Lucas laughed a little despite himself.

"Look, watching you and Nathan really makes me wish Keith would come back. I would give anything to be able to just move forward and be that close."

"It would be great if he came back."

"It would be. So Brooke said you and Nathan spent too much time together?"

"Yeah."

"I don't really think you do, but then again I'm probably the wrong person to ask."

"I miss Keith." Lucas said suddenly.

"I do too."

"It was right around this time last year he came to live with me while my mom was in Italy. We fought a lot, which sucked. But it was also a lot of fun, having him there all the time." Lucas smiled.

"I bet."

"We always had fun when he was around."

Dan smiled, happy to see Lucas finally getting better.

"Are you going to call her or just wait until tomorrow?"

"I don't know what to say." Lucas sighed.

Dan instantly regretted bringing up the subject again.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were feeling a little better."

"I don't know. I'm just confused. I feel like I should be apologizing to her, justifying some action to her or something, but I'm not really sure what I'm apologizing for. I mean, apparently I love my brother too much? That doesn't make sense to me."

"Want to know what I think?"

"Sure."

"You don't have anything to apologize for. Honestly I love the fact that you and Nathan are best friends. That's probably any father's dream."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

Nathan was walking toward the café when someone from behind pulled him aside and pushed him up against the wall.

"Theresa, you scared the crap out of me." Nathan laughed.

"Sorry." Theresa grinned, leaning up against him and kissing him.

"I guess I'll forgive you." Nathan teased.

"Yes. I'll never do that again."

"Please do."

"Okay…so I talked to Brooke last night." Theresa said, taking his hand and walking toward the café.

"Oh joy."

"Yeah she wasn't too happy when I suggested all of us going to Tric."

"I guess not, considering she decided to dump Luke for no reason and now she has to deal with the fact that he's not there for her to kick around anymore." Nathan said bitterly.

"You're really pissed off aren't you?"

"I would love for them to just be happy. I thought everything was going great, and then this happens."

"How's he doing?"

"Not too good. He hasn't really talked to me since Friday."

"Aww, why?"

"My guess is that he's been over thinking everything she said to him and he thinks that if we don't hang out, she'll forgive him."

"I wanted to say something to her about it all, but we only just started being friends."

"What are you talking about? You've been cheering together since middle school."

"Well yeah, but it was mostly her barking orders at me or insulting me."

"Sounds familiar."

"We never really talked before you and I started dating."

"And how is being friends with her working out for you?"

"She's stopped bitching at me in practice."

"Excellent." Nathan grinned.

"Yeah."

"So that's why you've been dating me?"

"Oh absolutely." Theresa teased.

Nathan's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"It's Tim. I'll call him later." Nathan said, putting it back.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Nathan smiled.

* * *

Lucas stared at the book in his hands without really reading it, and was playing music without really hearing it.

He almost fell off his chair when Nathan threw the door open.

"Ever hear of knocking?"

"You are depressing the hell out of me." Nathan said.

"Huh?"

"You've been up in here since Saturday morning."

"I have not."

"She's going to realize when she sees you tomorrow in school that she made a mistake."

"No she won't."

"Trust me, she will. Especially if she sees that you're not completely bummed over this."

"But I am."

"Well you don't show her that."

"Nathan, that's crap."

"Why?"

"Because that would solidify the fact that I don't care about her feelings."

"Oh. I'm sorry. That was a stupid suggestion."

"Don't worry about it."

"Look, let's go out and get coffee or something."

"You're grounded."

"Dad let me off the hook early. You would know that if you bothered to leave your little hellhole here. I just got back from hanging out with Theresa."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah it was great. I was happy we could hang out before the school week started."

"True."

"Alright, so this is an intervention. You need to get out of here.

"But…"

"Let's go." Nathan said, pulling Lucas up.

"I don't know…"

"Look, you can stay up here for another full day moping about her, listening to this same goddamn song all day, or you can go out and just enjoy life a little."

"You're right."

"I always am."

"Yeah."

"You do you realize that I'm the only one pissed about this whole thing?"

"Give it time."

"Really?"

"We'll see how it goes."

"Interesting."

"Shut up and let's go." Lucas said, smacking Nathan's arm lightly.

* * *

"I'll be right back, I need gum." Nathan said, getting up.

"Gum?"

"I'll be right back. Just drink coffee and brood like I know you want to."

"Take your time." Lucas said, laughing and rolling his eyes.

Nathan smiled to himself as he crossed the street to the drugstore.

He almost collided with Brooke and Peyton as they were leaving.

"Oh! Uh, hey Nate." Peyton said, glancing at Brooke.

"Hi Peyton." Nathan said, stepping around them.

"Nathan. Don't be like this." Brooke sighed.

"Do you know what you do to him? Do you seriously know how much you hurt him?" Nathan said, turning back around.

"You don't even know my side of the-"

"I really don't care. All I know and care about is that this is the second time in the past couple of months that Lucas has been completely derailed by something you said to him. And the most amazing thing to me is that it's _the exact same thing_ you said to him before. You know he would be so upset over this. You knew he would. That is such a shitty way to treat someone you claim to love."

"I do love him!"

"You had to know what would happen. You knew that he would freak out, that he would _obsess _over anything you said, and now he's been up in his room since that night and he barely talked to me until I finally got him to freaking go out."

"Nathan, come on." Peyton said.

"Look, I'm sorry that I got in the way of your plans Friday. But you would've had plans yesterday, but then you dumped him. It was one freaking date, Brooke. Get a grip."

"You are being so unreasonable! Of course you side with him." Brooke said angrily.

"Well duh. And for the record? Did you ever consider that maybe it seems that we spend a lot of time together because I don't know, we live in the same house?"

Brooke sighed, knowing he had a point.

"Listen, you don't owe me any explanations at all. I probably shouldn't even have said anything. But this is getting ridiculous. Stop doing this to him. I seriously can't stand seeing him like this again." Nathan said, leaving the store.

* * *

"You didn't get gum."

"Got sidetracked."

"By what?"

"Peyton and Brooke."

"Oh boy."

"I only yelled a little."

"Just a little?"

"Maybe more than that."

"How much more?"

"Don't be mad, Luke. I just saw her, and I thought about you and I got pissed off."

"It's okay." Lucas sighed.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh. I know you're just looking out for me."

"I wanted to ignore her, but she just had to say something to me. It really grinds my gears sometimes."

"It _what?" _Lucas laughed.

"I don't know." Nathan said, laughing too.

Neither of them noticed Peyton and Brooke watching them as they laughed like nothing was wrong.

"You're such a lameass." Lucas said, finally catching his breath.

"Yeah, yeah. So how do you think school will be tomorrow?"

"I don't know."

"Remember, I've got your back no matter what."

"Thanks. Should we get home?"

"Yeah. Feel better?"

"I needed a good laugh." Lucas nodded.

"You have a lot to look forward to, you know."

"Like?"

"Your mom and Andy getting married next weekend, then you're staying with us for three weeks."

"That's true. It's gonna be awesome."

"Absolutely."

"Yeah."

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you and Brooke will ever find that right balance?"

"I thought we had."

"Do you think you'll make up?"

"I want to. But I don't want to keep doing this over and over. I can't stand fighting with her when I don't really understand the issue we're fighting about."

"Yeah…"

"I really love her Nate. I just wish I knew how to make her happy." Lucas said sadly.

"I know…"

* * *

**Yes, Lucas-centric again. I like it when he's sad and his dad finally is there for him. However...major drama for Nathan coming up, but it seemed really out of left field in this chapter so it might have to wait another chapter or two (I can already pretty much promise it's going to be a long chapter, whenever it may be).**

**So next chapter includes the wedding. Lots of fun there, right? Luke and his new family, Brooke and Lucas, Nathan and Theresa, Haley and Eric, and perhaps…perhaps Keith? Oh I do think so!**

**…I need to sleep.**

**As always, please read and review! **


	46. Chapter 46

**26 pages, y'all. A new record for me. **

* * *

"You ready?" Nathan asked as they headed to school. 

"No."

Nathan waited a moment.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. You want me to drive?"

"Not particularly."

"Can I anyways?"

"I guess so."

Nathan took the keys from Lucas and ran out to the car.

"It's just a car Nate."

"This is a kickass BMW and you know it, rich boy."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Rich boy?"

"Your step dad is the richest guy in town."

"True."

"This car is frickin' awesome." Nathan said, pulling out of the driveway and zooming down the street.

"How poetic."

"You're not fun today."

"I just got dumped by my girlfriend."

"Point taken."

* * *

"So was this was the worst weekend ever for me to go out of town to visit my cousins or what?" Jake said, walking up to Nathan and Lucas at their lockers. 

Lucas gave Jake a weak smile before turning back to his locker.

"You talked to Peyton?" Nathan asked.

"No. Well yes, but also the gossip mill is just going strong as usual."

"Fantastic." Lucas sighed.

"Crap." Jake said.

"What?"

"They're coming."

Lucas slammed his locker shut and walked off down the hall without a word.

"Have fun." Nathan muttered before catching up with Lucas.

"Oh great." Brooke sighed as she and Peyton caught up with Jake.

"He's upset." Jake said tiredly.

"Are you siding with him?" Brooke asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Wow Brooke, welcome to high school, where we're a bit more mature than that. And also, I know neither one of your stories. I heard it from a bunch of kids talking about you two breaking up."

"We're just on a break." Brooke insisted.

"Okay…well what happened?"

"What?"

"With you and Luke. I want to know both your stories."

"Friday night Lucas and I had plans, and like an hour before he was supposed to pick me up he calls me and tells me he would rather stay home and play video games with Nathan or whatever. It's just ridiculous how much time those two spend with each other. It's like when anyone else is around, they don't matter."

"Okay." Jake said simply, kissing Peyton and going off to find Lucas and Nathan.

* * *

Lucas sat in his classroom, once again willing the bell to ring as he classmates whispered not so quietly behind him. 

"_Yeah, they broke up again."_

"_Probably cheated on her again." _

"_They never learn." _

"_He did a good job convincing her she changed."_

"_I heard she dumped him because of Nathan."_

"_Well nobody stands in the way of the BFF Brothers."_

"_It's ridiculous." _

"_I still think he probably hooked up with some other girl." _

"_Well at least it's not Peyton this time, unless Jake is really stupid too." _

Lucas swallowed hard, memorizing every inch of his desk.

"Your turn." Jake said, sitting down next to Lucas.

"What are we doing?" Lucas asked, looking up and sighing with relief that he had a friend with him finally.

"Brooke told me her side and now I want to hear yours."

"Okay. You know how Nate was grounded last week?"

"Yeah."

"Well he was really bummed out Friday about it. He was upset because he couldn't spend time with Theresa. I just wanted to spend one night with him so he wouldn't be lonely. I apologized to her; I said I would make it up to her. Then she just started yelling at me about how I spend too much time with Nathan and I don't value her."

"Okay…"

"I just feel like it came out of nowhere. And now everyone is talking about it…"

"Yeah, I've heard." Jake sighed, feeling terrible for Lucas.

"Look, I don't want you to be caught in the middle. I know how much that sucks."

"Yeah…I don't really know what to do."

"Sucks to be you." Lucas said with a wry smile.

"Yeah…so how are you holding up?"

"Haven't punched a wall yet."

"There is that."

"I'm tempted to bang my head against the wall though with all these rumors."

"Want to know what I think?"

"Sure."

"I think that you should talk to her. Neither of you are happy. You still want to be with her don't you?"

"Yeah…I just don't know what I've been doing wrong. I don't want to keep making her unhappy. But she never tells me these things. She did this to me like a freaking month ago."

"Talk it out with her."

"I want to."

"You should. I know you crazy kids can work it out." Jake said, pinching Lucas' cheek.

"Oh boy." Lucas said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

"Brooke can we talk?" Lucas asked, catching Brooke on her way to lunch. 

"Fine." Brooke sighed.

"So are you going to tell me what's been going on?"

"I told you. You don't seem to have time for me anymore."

"That's not true Brooke. I just wanted to help out Nathan. We just played video games all night, it wasn't anything important."

"Oh. I'm glad you broke our date for nothing important!"

"Brooke, that's not what I meant."

"It's fine, Nathan is more important than me-"

"That's not true!"

"Well you have a funny way of showing me that it's not!"

"Brooke, I'm really trying here. You're not letting me try to fix it! If this is what you want, just go ahead and do it."

"Do what?"

"Make this thing permanent."

"Lucas!"

"Just tell me. Soon." Lucas said, walking away.

* * *

"You're coming with me?" Nathan asked after school. 

"I figured I would. I don't want to come back here in an hour when I could just as easily sit and read in the gym."

"It's just that…you know how I'm not really fond of Whitey at the moment?"

"Still?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Sure."

"Well he made some comment about how I was wasting my future. Just because I wanted to go pick you up from bridal shopping torture."

"That sucks. You were just doing me a favor."

"Yeah. Well he was being a jackass. He said I could either stay and practice or 'cuddle on the couch' with you."

"The hell?"

"Yeah…so you still want to come?"

"Yeah."

"Okay ladies, give me a moment and I'll be right with you…Lucas what are you doing here?"

"Watching practice. I have to take Nate home." Lucas said simply.

"Oh…well then…"

"Yeah, and then we're going to cuddle." Lucas smirked.

Nathan laughed, while the others tittered nervously, despite themselves.

"Move on up the bleachers, Lucas and keep your mouth shut if you want to stay."

Lucas raised his eyebrows and silently picked up his stuff.

Nathan turned around to look at Lucas, who shrugged and started reading his book.

"What the hell was that?" Jake asked quietly.

"Long story I'll-" Nathan began to say as Whitey blasted his whistle.

"I'll fill you in later." Nathan said quietly, jogging out onto the court.

Whitey instructed them to do drills on their own and then made his way to where Lucas was sitting.

"So now you're off the team, the respect ends? Is that how you see it?"

"Nope. But Nathan told me what you said, and I just wanted to point out how ridiculous that was."

"I was frustrated with him that day, it just came out."

"Well judging by how much he bitches about practice every day, you haven't let up or apologized." Lucas said evenly.

"We'll talk it out soon. Just stay up here and don't disrupt my practice." Whitey warned.

* * *

On the other side of the gym, Brooke and the other cheerleaders were getting ready for practice. Actually, Brooke was just staring at Lucas talking to Whitey. 

"Like what you see?" Peyton teased.

"Why do I keep doing this? I swear, I must be the only idiot to dump their perfect guy twice in one month."

"Probably not."

"He seems fine though. He was laughing with Nathan yesterday, he doesn't want to talk to me today, and he's still hanging out with him."

"Brooke, I will bet you anything that they were laughing at something stupid Nathan said or did."

"How do you know?"

"I dated him for a long time. He said stupid things, both funny and hurtful."

"Right…"

"Besides, I'll let you in on a little secret. Jake told me that Lucas was miserable today. He didn't even talk to anyone for the most part."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"So you think I was wrong for what I did?"

"What you did? Yes. The reasoning behind it? I think you had every reason to be upset with him. But blindsiding him is not the way to do it. You've got one brooding, sensitive boy over there, and he is probably still wondering why he can't make things right."

"I should've told him."

"There you go, now you're getting it."

"But I am not crazy, right? Those two are like attached at the hip almost all the time."

"Yeah, they're making up for lost time. I think that sometimes they don't know how much."

"Yeah…" Brooke said.

"Just talk to him." Peyton said firmly.

"That's what I should've been doing all along."

"Work it out with him."

"I will…" Brooke trailed off, watching Lucas as he started reading alone again.

* * *

Lucas walked out of school with Nathan after practice, Nathan rushing towards the car so he could drive again. 

"I'm not interested, okay?" Lucas heard Brooke say.

Nathan glanced at Lucas, who followed the voices.

"Come on, you know you want to." Some guy said, leaning over her.

"I'm still with Lucas."

"I heard you two broke up."

"We're on a break. Now, please let me go."

"Hey!" Lucas said, rounding the corner.

"What the hell do you want, Scott?"

"I think you should leave my girlfriend alone."

"What are you going to do about it? I'm pretty sure if you tried anything your weakass heart would just give out."

"Do you really want to find out?" Lucas said, stepping closer.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't." Nathan said, coming up to them.

"Oh good, the boy scouts are here. Forget this." The guy said, stalking off.

"You okay?" Lucas asked Brooke.

Brooke nodded silently, trying not to cry.

"Who was that prick?" Nathan asked.

"His name is Mark." Brooke said quietly.

"It's okay…" Lucas said, pulling her close.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know what to do."

"It's okay, you're okay…hey Nate, I'm going to take Brooke home." Lucas said, tossing Nathan the keys to his car.

"Okay."

"I'm fine." Brooke said quickly, rushing off.

"Or…never mind?" Lucas said quietly.

* * *

"I wonder where Eric is." Nathan wondered out loud at the rehearsal dinner. 

"What?" Lucas asked, taking his gaze off Brooke.

"Nothing. Continue the creepy staring thing." Nathan sighed.

Lucas had barely spoken to anyone all week, and neither had Brooke. Both just seemed content with watching the other when they weren't looking. Or when they thought they weren't looking.

"Okay." Lucas said.

Karen and Andy were walking around talking to guests, when the stereo starting playing "You and Me" softly.

Lucas looked up and smiled, starting to get up.

"I hate this song." Nathan complained.

"Shut up I asked if they would play it."

"Oh. Because of the whole Homecoming dance?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm."

"I'm gonna do it. I don't care who was wrong, hell, we were probably both wrong, but I can't just sit here."

"Finally."

"Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

"You know, you should go ask your ex-wife to dance since Eric isn't here."

"Are you encouraging me to go be with someone who isn't my girlfriend?"

"For old times sake. You two could use some closure. For all our sakes."

"Fine. Go to your girl."

"I am." Lucas grinned.

He walked up to Brooke, who was sitting and staring into space.

"Hey I know it's been done to death…but this is kind of our song…do you want to dance?" Lucas asked.

"Okay." Brooke whispered.

"Are you okay after what happened with that guy?" Lucas asked quietly.

"I feel so stupid."

"Why? Because of that tool?"

"I wanted to be able to take care of myself, even when we're broken up I still need you to fight my battles."

"You were doing pretty good for yourself. That guy was just a jerk."

"I know…you and Nathan were so nice though."

"Always."

"Lucas, I'm so sorry. I should've told you how I felt. I know we just went through all this like last month…"

"I'm sorry that I still suck at this." Lucas said quietly.

"You don't. I just get really jealous."

"Of Nate?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why?"

"I've never had a close relationship with anybody in my family. There was always someone or something that was more important than me."

"Brooke…"

"I know it's silly."

"It's not."

"I just miss my parents…even though they never seemed to care…its just so hard being on my own, you know? You know I love how sweet you are to Nathan, but at the same time I get so jealous because I've known that feeling too many times before. I think that when we started dating again, I wanted to pretend like you were my family, and so when you decided to break our date it was like…"

"Oh…I get it. I really do. I'm so sorry Brooke."

"It's really stupid though."

"It is not."

"It is. I can't believe I just told you that!" Brooke exclaimed, pulling back.

"Why?"

"I sound like a stupid little girl…'I wanted to pretend you were my family'? I'm such a loser."

"You are not. You don't need to pretend. Brooke, I promise you that I am going to do better, I am going to be there for you." Lucas said, pulling her back.

"Really?"

"I promise. I don't see myself falling out of love with you anytime soon."

"I hope not."

"Are we okay?"

"I think we're more than okay." Brooke said, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Good. You have to tell me these things, Brooke."

"I know…it wasn't fair for me to spring all that on you. Again."

"It's okay."

"We still have issues to work out and I know our relationship is far from perfect, but I just want to know that you'll be here."

"I'll be here. I'll always be here." Lucas promised.

* * *

Nathan drummed his fingers on the table, now watching Haley as she sat alone at the table. 

The hell with it. Lucas could be right. They needed closure.

He stood up, suddenly getting excited about asking Haley to dance. It kind of reminded him of when he was on his first date with her, and he didn't really show it, but he was nervous.

"Hi…" He said quietly, coming to sit down next to her.

"Oh hey. How…how have you been?"

"I've been good. And you?"

"Can't complain. So, you and Theresa are good?"

"Um, yeah. We're good. Having fun. And you and…"

"Eric? Yeah it's been great."

"Kind of weird though, isn't it?"

"A little." Haley admitted.

"So are you excited for this weekend?"

"Yeah, Karen really deserves it. Andy is a great guy. And Lucas is so excited."

"I know, he could barely talk about anything else…before the whole thing with Brooke."

"How is he? I feel terrible, I feel like we never get to talk anymore."

"He's doing okay. Considering all that happened."

"At least he didn't hurt himself this time. I still can't believe he did that to himself."

"Yeah…"

"Looks like they're making up now." Haley said, nodding towards Lucas and Brooke, talking and slow dancing.

"That's good." Nathan said.

"So um…"

"Hey, do you want-"

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." Eric said, running up to the table and giving Haley a quick kiss.

"Hi, don't worry about it." Haley smiled, standing up.

"I guess I made it in time for the dancing?" Eric laughed.

"Yeah, I guess Andy and Karen wanted it to be romantic for everyone." Nathan said.

"Yeah." Haley said, glancing between the two guys.

"So uh, Haley you wanna dance?" Eric asked.

"Sure," Haley said, standing up. "Oh wait, Nathan you wanted to ask me something?"

"Oh. Never mind. It's not important." Nathan said quickly.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"See you later then." Haley said as Eric led her over to the other couples.

"Not important at all…" He mumbled to himself, slamming his hand down on the table and standing up.

A few minutes later, Lucas walked by to grab Brooke's stuff for her.

"Luke can I talk to you?" Nathan asked.

"Can it wait? I have to bring this to Brooke and then I'm walking her out to her car-"

"Sure. No problem." Nathan said listlessly.

"See ya in a little while." Lucas said, clapping his brother on the shoulder and going over to Brooke.

"I'll be in the car." Nathan shouted to Lucas.

"Okay!" Lucas said, turning around and tossing Nathan the keys.

Nathan sat in the car, blasting the radio and leaning back in the seat. He shut his eyes, trying to make some sense out of what happened that night.

He was going to ask Haley to dance. For closure, right? Maybe. But then Eric swooped in and interrupted the moment.

Was he jealous?

Entirely possible.

Holy shit. He couldn't possibly be jealous. Could he?

* * *

"Okay, yeah. I'll see you then. Uh huh. Okay. Love you too. Bye." Lucas said later that night on the phone. 

"Your mom?" Dan asked.

"Andy."

"I see."

"Yeah. I'm going to head up to bed. Night." Lucas said, leaving the room.

Dan turned to Deb, who was sitting at the table reading a magazine.

"Yes Dan?" Deb asked without looking up.

"Why the hell does the Keebler Elf get to say I love you to my kid?"

"They're a family too."

"I know." Dan sighed.

"You're going to have to start being a little friendlier towards them."

"I am friendly. I…I'm civil at least."

"Yes, but behind their backs you're not."

"What do you mean?"

"Well no more Keebler Elf, Tiny Tim, or when Lucas is at their house, saying he's at the Munchkin Palace."

Dan laughed despite himself.

"Dan." Deb scolded gently.

"What? It's funny."

"Yeah, yeah." Deb rolled her eyes.

* * *

Nathan sat in between his father and Theresa in the church, taking in the scene around him. 

Brooke, Haley, and Deb were standing up at the front of the church in beautiful blue dresses. Andy was standing across from them with a wide smile on his face, his best friend standing nearby.

The church was filled with familiar faces. He smiled at Peyton and Jake, who was holding Jenny on his lap.

Haley was smiling. She had such a pretty smile. He glanced over at Theresa, who flashed him an equally pretty smile. He gave her hand a squeeze and continued his perusal of the church.

As Nathan sat lost in thoughts, the music began to play and everyone stood up and turned to the back of the church.

Lucas walked arm in arm with Karen, both unable to stop smiling. Karen reached her other hand over and placed it on top of his.

They reached the altar, where Lucas kissed his mom on the cheek and began to let go. Karen however pulled her son into a tight hug.

"I love you Mom." Lucas said softly.

"I love you too."

"You look beautiful." He said, taking both her hands in his and giving one more smile before taking his place and Karen walked up to face Andy.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

* * *

"Can you believe this is finally happening?" Brooke squealed. 

"I'm so happy. Andy and Mom are so excited." Lucas smiled.

"You look like you slept with a hanger in your mouth." Brooke laughed.

"Huh?"

"Can't stop smiling there, Broody. I might have to give you a new nickname."

"I can't help it." Lucas said.

"It's nice to see."

"Yeah…"

"So boyfriend, how about we go out to the dance floor now that the bride and groom's first dance is over?"

"Alright." Lucas said, standing up and taking Brooke's hand.

They moved to the center of the floor, where many other couples were already together, swaying to the music.

"I love you." Brooke whispered as she placed her head on his chest.

"I love you so much, pretty girl."

"This has been such a perfect day."

"I know."

"So what happens with the honeymoon?"

"They're going to Europe for three weeks. My mom really wants to see Italy again."

"That's so romantic."

"Yeah, so I'm with my Dad for three weeks."

"Well that should be fun."

"Yeah, I'm excited."

"Excited about what?" Nathan said, awkwardly dancing over with Theresa, who was holding back laughter.

"Nice moves there, Nate." Theresa rolled her eyes.

Brooke laughed.

"Are you mocking me?" Nathan teased.

"Yes." Brooke, Theresa and Lucas all said at once.

"I feel so loved. Anyways, back to my original question."

"I was just telling Brooke about how I get to stay with you for three weeks while my mom and Andy are on their honeymoon."

"Yeah. It's gonna be awesome." Nathan nodded.

"Brooke I love you dress by the way." Theresa said.

"Thanks. I'm so happy Karen didn't saddle Haley and me with ugly poofy dresses. That would've been terrible."

Nathan and Lucas rolled their eyes as their girlfriends began talking about dresses and shoes, letting go of their boyfriends.

"Wanna go get a drink?" Nathan asked Lucas.

"Yeah. We'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Brooke asked.

"Drinks. We'll be back." Nathan said, dragging Lucas off.

Nathan poured himself a glass of champagne and downed it quickly.

"Easy there, buddy. Save some for later." Lucas laughed.

"I just needed a little boost."

"I see. So how's Dad doing?"

"I think he's having fun. He even spoke to Andy without being sarcastic or outright rude."

"That's progress."

"Yeah, he and my mom went up to congratulate them."

"That's good."

"Yeah. So today's been really great for you. You can't stop smiling."

"Why does everyone keep commenting on that?" Lucas laughed.

"Because. Your girlfriend calls you Broody for a reason." Nathan teased.

"Yeah whatever." Lucas chuckled.

"Hey guys." Eric said, approaching tentatively.

"Hey Eric, having fun?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. Haley thought it might be weird for like our fourth date to be a wedding, but we're having a good time."

"I'm glad." Lucas said.

Nathan stayed silent and got himself a glass of water.

"So, I guess I'll get back to Haley since the girls finally stopped talking fashion." Eric said.

"Okay. See you later, man." Lucas said.

Nathan tipped his head back and finished his water.

"You could try talking to him." Lucas chided.

"I could. But he's dating my ex-wife."

"And you have a great girlfriend over there."

"You're right…I don't know. It's just so _weird._ If we see him again, I'll talk to him, alright?"

"Okay. Let's go back." Lucas said, putting down his glass on the table and following Nathan back to where Brooke and Theresa were standing. Haley and Eric were sitting down at the table, talking.

"No drinks for us?" Brooke asked.

"Whoops." Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go get something to eat." Brooke said.

"Yeah. I'm starving." Nathan nodded.

"Okay, we'll see you later." Theresa said, taking Nathan's hand and going to their table. Nathan glanced back at Lucas and smiled, then his gaze drifted towards Haley and Eric.

He couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked. He watched as she smiled and laughed with Eric, not noticing his gaze.

"Nathan?" Theresa asked, breaking his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, what?"

"Just making sure you're still with me." Theresa smiled weakly.

"Yeah, sorry. What were we talking about?" Nathan asked, downing another glass of champagne.

* * *

"Have you talked to Haley yet?" Brooke asked Lucas as they sat down. 

"Yes…I _was_ talking to her before you and my mom _shoved _me out of the room."

"We did not shove you."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, well. We had to get ready."

"Deb's the only sane one in the bridal party."

"Watch yourself, Broody." Brooke raised her eyebrows.

"I love you?"

"Uh huh." Brooke said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss.

He pulled her closer and kissed her again.

"I love weddings." Brooke whispered.

"Me too."

"Having fun?" Dan asked, walking up to the table.

"Yeah, it's great. How about you?"

"It's alright." Dan smiled, walking off to find Deb.

Dan made his way past a bunch of people, smiling and waving to familiar faces, but he stopped short when he saw one standing outside, hidden from the rest of the guests.

* * *

"Well looks who's back." Dan said, walking outside. 

"Hello Danny." Keith said simply.

"So you decided to crash Karen's wedding, huh? Are you such a masochist big brother, to see the woman you love marrying someone else?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"Deb's not the one getting married."

"Well last time I checked, you two were in the middle of a divorce."

"When was the last time you checked in with anything around here?"

"That's none of your business."

"You told Lucas there was nothing to come back for, right?"

"That was a long time ago, I was angry-"

"You're right. It was a long time ago. It's been long enough that everyone in your life moved on."

"Yeah? Since when do you have so much insight? Karen got married to Andy, so what? It's not like everything has changed."

"Oh, I think you're wrong about that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well why don't you stick around this time and find out?"

"That's rich, coming from you."

"I'm making up for my past mistakes. You've been ignoring Lucas for months."

"You ignored him for years."

"That's true. But like I said, I'm making up for it. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back."

"How the hell did you get invited to this anyway?"

"Deb is the maid of honor, it's my son's mother getting married, et cetera et cetera." Dan said coolly.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am."

"Forget it. I'm leaving."

"Out of town again? Nothing to say to your nephew who has been trying to reach you for months?"

"I'll be around. I'm not going anywhere this time."

"Go home, Keith. He doesn't need you anymore. He may still miss you, but he's moved on."

"We'll see about that. It's not up to you to decide for him."

"I'm his father."

"Nice of you to admit it for once. I'm the one who really cares for him."

"You didn't come to the hospital. He was in a car accident, he had a heart attack. I was there. I saw him, lying in that bed, I was not sure if I was ever going to talk to him again, make up for what I did. Where were you?"

"I'm here now. We'll see who's right." Keith said darkly.

"Yeah we will." Dan said, returning to the party.

* * *

Jake came up to Lucas, trying to stifle his laughter. 

"What?" Lucas asked, laughing a little too.

"Um, Nate wants you."

"Why is that funny?"

"He is so gone, man. Theresa had to leave early, so his new date was alcohol."

"Great…"

"Luke!" Nathan called out when they got over to a group of chairs.

"Nate!" Lucas imitated.

"Ha, that was funny." Nathan laughed.

"Uh huh…so had a little to drink, eh?"

"Come sit with me." Nathan said, pulling Lucas down next to him and putting his arm around him.

"Uh…well…I should get-" Jake began.

"I love my big brother." Nathan smiled.

"I love you too, Nate."

"Uh huh. He's funny, see? And then he also takes care of me. He doesn't always take care of himself though. He hurt his hand when Brooke broke up with him." Nathan rambled.

"I remember." Jake said, uncomfortable.

"He just loves her a lot. He would do anything for her. He would do anything for anyone. Except maybe people he doesn't like. You know?"

"Uh huh…let's go Nate." Lucas said, trying to get Nathan to stand up.

"I'm okay."

"You're drunk."

"Yes, but I won't punch you this time. I promise."

"That's good…"

"I'm tired."

"I bet."

"Is Dad going to yell at me?"

"No idea."

"Would you ask him? But don't tell him I asked." Nathan whispered loudly.

Jake couldn't help himself anymore, he just started laughing.

"You suck." Lucas smirked.

"Sorry." Jake laughed.

* * *

Lucas supported his brother's weight as they made their way upstairs. 

Lucas let Nathan drop onto his bed with a loud thud.

"Ow…"

"Sorry buddy." Lucas laughed.

"Bitch." Nathan grumbled.

"This is the drunk Nathan I remember." Lucas teased.

"Uh huh…" Nathan said, starting to fall asleep.

"You okay?"

"Love you…" Nathan mumbled into his pillow.

"Yeah you made that apparent."

"So smart…pretty…"

Lucas frowned. The hell?

"Haley…" Nathan whispered.

Lucas sighed. He couldn't believe the situation was coming up again.

"Night Nate." He said to his sleeping brother, walking over to the dresser.

He looked at a picture of him and Brooke on his dresser. He was so happy to be back together with her. Then he pulled the Polaroid of him, Andy and Karen from the wedding party and placed it next to the other pictures on his desk. A picture of him, Deb and Dan at the beach house, the basketball team, him and Jake playing guitar…and a picture of Keith carrying him around the house when he was little.

Quietly he sat down on the bed, where Nathan was now snoring. He dropped his head into his hands, wondering how life got so complicated again. He glanced once more at Nathan, wondering how accurate Nathan's drunken ramblings were.

* * *

**Heeheehee...dramaaa**

**I've been working on the next three chapters as well, so hopefully...very soon!**


	47. Chapter 47

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! As always, you are the best!**

**Also, I apologize because I've been bad about checking email lately and I didn't see PMs/emails until after I updated the last chapter. But I promise I will be better, so feel free to PM/email me with questions, comments, etc **

**All it means is that I'm a lazy fool :-)**

* * *

After Nathan began kicking him in his sleep, Lucas decided he had to find somewhere else to be.

He heard the television on downstairs, so he followed to noise to find his father sitting on the couch, unable to sleep either.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Dan asked from the couch.

"Nathan kicked me out of my bed."

"Well I'm pretty sure he will forget in about fifteen seconds."

"He literally kicked me out of my bed."

"Oh. Ouch."

"Yeah, he has a hefty kick for a guy who's going to wake up with a massive hangover in a couple of hours."

"Well, might as well sit here then."

Lucas nodded and sat down on the couch.

"So what are we watching?"

"I don't know, I'm channel surfing."

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah…"

"Any particular reason?"

"Yeah…"

"But…you don't want to tell me?"

"I don't want to ruin this day for you."

"Is it a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily. Just…"

"Come on, tell me."

"Keith…he…came to the wedding."

"What?"

"He was hanging outside."

"Why…"

"I don't know. I guess he finally decided to come back…he just chose the most…interesting…day to do so."

"But he was there?"

"Yeah, I think I'm the only one he talked to."

"It figures." Lucas said angrily.

"What do you mean?"

"It figures he comes back for this. Never mind anything _else _that's happened this year."

"He didn't-"

"I've left him so many emails and voicemails, he knows everything."

"You called him?"

"I kind of thought that one of those things would matter to him."

"Lucas…"

"He really doesn't care about me anymore."

"I don't believe that." Dan said, not realizing how unlike him that sounded.

Lucas didn't realize either, he just kept on ranting.

"You'd think if he did care, one of the things that happened would've brought him back. I almost died, Dad. Why doesn't he care?"

"Maybe he came back to show that he does."

"He only came back for my mom. He came back to see her marry someone else. It's his own fault."

Dan was speechless. He had never heard his son sound so bitter.

Lucas didn't notice the silence; he just shifted on the couch and fixed his gaze on the television.

Slowly, Dan put his arm around Lucas and pulled him closer.

"I missed him, you know?" Lucas said quietly.

"Look, Lucas…"

"If he missed me he would've come back."

Dan didn't want to, but he knew he had to be fair to Keith. After all, he had been in a similar predicament, just for much longer.

"Maybe he was scared."

"Maybe…"

"I don't like seeing you like this. Give him a chance."

"Why?"

"Well, look at where you are now. You gave me a chance, you gave Nathan a chance, and it doesn't completely suck now does it?"

"Not completely." Lucas said, turning to Dan and smiling.

Dan smiled back.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"Being so down."

"It's understandable."

"So how come you didn't tell me about this before?"

"You were so happy…I figured that you would have your day of fun without this hanging over you."

"Oh. Thanks…"

"No problem."

"What the hell is this show?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know."

"Okay…" Lucas said, watching the show.

They sat in silence for a while, Lucas slowly drifting off and Dan just enjoying being with his son. Dan absently rubbed his son's arm up and down as they sat there.

Soon Lucas' even breathing indicated he was asleep.

Dan continued to sit there, just happy for the opportunity he had. He thought about how if Lucas was several years younger, he could just pick him up and carry him upstairs.

He thought about how this was just one of the first late night talks he had with Lucas.

He wondered if Lucas and Andy had any late night talks.

He wondered what Andy had done to get so close to Lucas.

* * *

"I feel like hell." Nathan said, coming downstairs and sitting on the couch next to Lucas the next morning.

"Good morning, princess." Lucas said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Yeah, yeah. So any indication of how long I'm grounded for?"

"I think I may have talked them out of any punishment. It was a party, good times to be had, yadda yadda…"

"You serious?"

"Yeah."

"I owe you so big." Nathan said, his eyes wide.

"Oh, I know little brother. I know." Lucas smirked.

"Somehow I get the feeling that this will actually be worse than any punishment I would've gotten otherwise."

"Well, you don't really deserve it especially since you kicked me out of my own bed last night."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"There's no freaking way I would've done that. I'm not that mean."

"You did. You have a hefty kick for a drunk guy."

"…I thought you meant figuratively."

"Nope." Lucas said, pulling up his t-shirt, showing the slight bruise he had on his side.

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry Luke."

"Don't worry about it."

"Any other things I should know about?"

"Such as?"

"Any other embarrassing things I should know about from my inebriation? I do remember the 'I love my big brother' speech. By the way, I am so sorry for that."

"Yeah." Lucas laughed.

"So seriously, did I say or do anything else that I should pretend to know about?"

"Well last night, you were lying in my bed, and you said 'I love you' over and over."

"Oh…okay…uh…"

"Well, you said 'I love you Haley' eventually. At first I was a little concerned because you would follow up the I love you's with comments like 'you're so pretty and smart'."

"Oh but you are." Nathan teased, trying to shake off the embarrassment.

"Look, I know that sometimes when people drink, they say crazy stuff."

"I can't exactly write it off as some drunken comment can I?"

"I didn't think so."

"I tried, Luke. I tried so hard."

"To move on?"

"Yeah."

"You know, you didn't have to, really."

"I had to try."

"Why?"

"I was so confused, I honestly had no idea what I felt. I just had to take that shot, see if it all was worth it."

"Uh huh…"

"What's wrong?"

"It's so back and forth with you two, Nathan."

"I know, I know. But it's not like it was an easy thing to get a grip on."

Lucas bit his lip and looked down.

"What?" Nathan said, trying to catch Lucas' eye.

"So what happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"So, now you go back to her? Find her somewhere alone, give some amazing speech and you two will be back together, happy forever?" Lucas said bitterly.

"Whoa, whoa. What the hell, Lucas?"

"I should've figured."

"Figured _what?_"

"You would do this."

"I haven't done anything!"

"Go ahead, Nate. Go be married again. Go live your life." Lucas said, getting up and leaving.

"Lucas!" Nathan hollered.

His only response from Lucas was the front door slamming.

"What the hell?" He wondered out loud.

"You okay?" Deb asked, coming into the kitchen.

"No. Lucas just completely blew up at me."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I kind of admitted that I may still have feelings for Haley and he got…mad…mad at me."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"Doesn't sound like who?" Dan asked, tying his tie as he walked into the room.

"Lucas completely bit my head off for no reason. I swear, some days he is freakishly patient, and others he has the shortest fuse on earth." Nathan said.

"Perhaps it had something to do with you kicking him in your sleep." Dan teased.

"I told him about Haley…that I think I still have some feelings for her." Nathan said slowly.

"Oh…" Dan said slowly.

"What? Do you know something we don't?" Deb asked.

"Kind of. Maybe."

"I want to go look for him."

"Give him some space, Nate. Trust me."

"If you say so…I'll be in my room, sleeping forever." Nathan mumbled.

"You have fun." Deb smiled.

"Uh huh." Nathan moaned.

"Well this is quite the development." Dan commented.

"The Haley thing?"

"I thought he was pretty happy with Theresa."

"I think he is…he just misses her."

"Maybe."

"I wonder what's going on with Lucas."

"He's just stressed. It probably doesn't have everything to do with Nathan."

"Look at you." Deb smiled.

"What?"

"You've picked up this father thing really quickly."

"Yeah, well, Lucas and I were up late last night, talking."

"I figured when you didn't come upstairs until three in the morning."

"He's mad, about Keith. And the wedding."

"Oh…that must be hard on him."

"Yeah…"

"So the whole thing with Nathan?"

"He's afraid someone else disappear from his life."

"What? Nathan's not leaving."

"I don't know…but his fear is not totally irrational. I mean, look at the first seventeen years of his life, his mom jetting off to New Zealand to be with little Andy for the whole damn summer, then of course there is Keith, and now he's afraid Nathan will go off to be with Haley."

"You think so?"

"I don't know. But that would explain why he yelled at Nate."

* * *

"Hey, how are you?" Brooke said when she saw Lucas standing in her doorway.

"Been better." Lucas said, stepping inside and wrapping his arms around her.

"What's the matter?"

"Keith's back."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"He came to the wedding."

"I didn't see him there."

"He only talked to my dad."

"But why are you upset? Because he didn't talk to you?"

"Yeah. He didn't talk to me for months."

"Oh Lucas…"

"I called him so many times, Brooke. I emailed him too. I tried everything to get him back. I left him all these voicemails, apologizing for everything. Begging for him to come back home."

"You never told me that."

"I never told anyone."

"He never responded?"

"No…and I wrote him a bunch of emails…sometimes to tell him the good things…and the bad stuff. He just didn't care."

"I'm sure that's not true. Maybe he was scared."

"That's what people keep telling me."

"I've been there, Lucas. You should know that." Brooke said, smiling a little.

"I guess." Lucas said, allowing himself to smile too.

"This could be great, you know. Then you can really repair all the relationships in your life."

"Maybe…"

"You still don't seem sure."

"It still hurts. Even if we were fighting, I was in the hospital, Nate was in the hospital, he went to rehab…lots of stuff. That should count for something, shouldn't it?"

"Yeah. You just have to talk to him and find out what happens."

"I guess…"

"So how's Nathan?"

"Still fast asleep."

"I bet. Peyton told me all about it."

"Jake was no help." Lucas laughed.

"It sounded funny."

"It was. It definitely was."

"So do you miss your mom yet?"

"Probably when this week is over…I don't think it's hit me yet."

"Yeah."

"Its not that long though."

"Right and you get to spend time with you Dad and Nate."

"Yeah. And you." Lucas grinned.

"Always a plus." Brooke said.

Lucas leaned over and kissed her, then put his arm around her.

"Thanks for listening to me rant."

"Anytime."

"So how are you?"

"I had an amazing night last night."

"Me too."

"It was so beautiful. Everyone looked great, and it was so much fun."

"Yeah. It really was."

"So Tutor Girl and Eric seemed pretty cozy last night."

"Yeah…" Lucas said quietly.

"They are definitely cute. I wasn't expecting them to get together or anything at first, but they really seem to click you know? Haley told me that she thinks she might be falling for him. Can you believe it? Our whole group is finally happy, its not weird anymore." Brooke rambled, not noticing Lucas had slipped deep into thought.

Lucas didn't respond, he just sighed.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked.

"Huh?" Lucas said, glancing at her.

"Were you even listening?"

"Yeah, Haley and Eric. Everyone happy…no more…weirdness…"

"Am I missing something here?"

"No. I guess I'm a little tired. Yesterday was a busy day, then I stayed up late."

"Taking care of Nate?"

"Among other things. I have to apologize to him when I get home."

"Why, what happened?"

"I kind of snapped at him this morning. He didn't do anything to deserve it."

"Aww."

"Yeah, I'll just have to make it up to him."

"I'm sure he'll understand."

* * *

Nathan stumbled into his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. After lying there for a few minutes, he clumsily reached under his bed and felt around for a box.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground, but he had found what he was looking for. Lying on the ground with his head pounding even more now, he opened the box and pulled out a picture.

It was him and Haley, standing on the beach, right after their wedding. Nathan smiled and pulled some more stuff out of the box, and saw something roll across the floor.

His wedding ring.

It had been sitting in his car for weeks, but after a while, he had put it in the box, along with everything else. Gently, he put the ring back in the box, on top of a bunch of newspaper and magazine articles, and a videotape.

He saved all of Haley's interviews, and all the articles about her and the tour. He taped every interview he saw on TV with her. Even the ones that hurt the most.

For awhile, he thought he was being sentimental. It was an important part of his life, after all. He was married to this girl. He loved her, he loved someone for once without holding back, without being scared.

Maybe it was the headache, maybe it was because he was ready to fall asleep, maybe he just felt a little lonely without anyone to talk to at the moment, but he was pretty sure it hadn't faded away.

* * *

"Hey." Lucas said quietly.

"Hi…so I've been trying for hours to figure out what the hell happened this morning."

"You have not. You've been sleeping it off." Lucas smiled.

"Well…yeah."

"Listen, I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

"Why did you?"

"I thought you were going to leave."

"Leave?"

"I thought that if you got back together with Haley…you would stop the whole divorce thing and go back with her. You two would live in that apartment, and I would never see you."

"Oh come on, Luke. That was never going to happen."

"Wasn't it?"

"First of all, yes, I think I still have feelings for her. But that doesn't mean we're going to get married, Luke. We obviously weren't ready before. What makes you think we'd be ready now?"

"Well, um, you're more mature?" Lucas said pathetically, seeing Nathan's point.

"Yeah, right. Well maybe a little. But that doesn't mean I want or am ready to be married."

"I just didn't want to screw up this thing we had going."

"You and me, we're always going to be tight."

"It was more than that though. This year, my family is complete, you know?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm just being selfish because this isn't how I grew up, I didn't grow up with two parents, with a really stable household, with you…I just want it as long as I can. We're going off to school next year, and I figure we'll go somewhere around here. But it's not the same. It's the only time I have."

"Luke…nobody is going anywhere. My mom, your mom, Dad, and Andy? They're all going to be here."

"I know…"

"Listen, before I went upstairs, I heard Dad and my mom talking. About you. And why you were so upset."

"Oh so that's how you had time to sleep."

"That and the massive hangover."

"How's that going, by the way?" Lucas said, changing the subject.

"Better. Now I just have to avoid all of our friends forever."

"Why?"

"Because I went on about how much I love my big brother."

"That was the best thing ever, even if it was mortifying."

"Oh, shut up."

"It was so touching." Lucas said, pretending to be emotional.

"I bet. Wow, I'm stupid."

"You're not. It was a wedding, someone was bound to drink too much and embarrass themselves." Lucas grinned.

"It's your kindness and sympathy that I admire the most about you."

"I thought it would be my charm and good looks."

"Well it might be if you had either one of those qualities."

"Okay, it's been fun. Bye." Lucas said, getting up.

"Sit, stay." Nathan laughed, pulling him back down.

"So what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. Should I tell Haley?"

"I don't know." Lucas sighed.

"Oh come on, you have to know."

"Why the hell do I have to know?"

"Because you're supposed to."

"You annoy me."

"Uh huh and yet you love me so much you don't want me to leave."

"Shut up."

"I think it's sweet." Nathan teased, pinching Lucas' cheek.

"Dumbass." Lucas said, rolling his eyes.

**

* * *

****Please read and review!**

**I kind of combined chapters so hopefully it makes sense.**


	48. Chapter 48

**You know, I kinda hatewhen people do this, because I get all excited to see a story updated and I just find out it's an author's note.**

**However, to be fair, I wanted to tell you all that I won't be able to update the story for awhile because the laptop I have my next three chapters saved on needs a new part before I can get back on it and post those chapters. (I know, _boo. Hiss._)**

**I can give a few little tidbits though (some might be subject to change, but I doubt it because I will probably make any last minute corrections and just go ahead and post the next chapter)**

**-Keith/Lucas-ness**

**-More Dan/Keith confrontation**

**-Some fighting in the Scott household (no, not the boys)**

**-Nathan gets his ass kicked  (How? Wha? You'll seeeee)**

**-Naley friendship begins to reform (Heh. VERY one-sided, or is it? Hmmm)**

** I should be updating in a week or so **

** Once again, apologies  
**


	49. Chapter 49

**Oh my laptop. How I've missed thee.**

**Thanks for your patience, hope you enjoy!**

**This is an interesting experiment, called "Bubblz finished writing/editing this at ten minutes to midnight so this chapter might not be entirely coherent." **

**

* * *

**

"When did Lucas say he and Jake were getting here?" Peyton asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"They're two minutes away." Brooke said.

"Okay, then its time to dance. Let's go find Mouth." Peyton grinned.

"You got it, P Sawyer." Brooke jumped up from her seat and grabbed Peyton's hand.

"You coming Nathan?" Peyton asked.

"Nah. I'm gonna head outside for a minute to get some air. If Theresa comes in tell her I'll be right back."

"Sure."

Nathan got a drink from the water fountain on his way back inside and as he stood up and turned around, he came face to face with Mark.

And three of his friends.

"The hell do you want? Brooke still doesn't want to go out with you. And I don't blame her." Nathan sighed.

"Where's your brother?"

"Not here yet. Now answer _my_ question."

"We just wanted to talk things out."

"Yeah, right." Nathan scoffed.

"You're right. We just wanted to show you a thing or two about playing fair." Mark said.

* * *

"We're late. Brooke's gonna be pissed." Jake grinned.

"What about Peyton?"

"She's more easy going."

"We'll see. Hold on, Nate's calling me." Lucas said, pulling out his phone.

"Oh right. Were we supposed to pick him up?" Jake wondered as Lucas answered the phone.

"Hey, we're just pulling in." Lucas said, parking the car.

"Good." Nathan said shakily.

"You okay buddy?" Lucas asked, sensing something was wrong.

"No…I need you to come out back."

"Back where?"

"The back area…where the exit is."

"What are you doing there?"

"Please just…hurry." Nathan said, hanging up.

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"Something's wrong with Nate…he's out back." Lucas said, getting out of the car.

"He didn't say?" Jake called as he followed Lucas.

"Nate?" Lucas called, pulling open the back door.

Nathan was slumped on the ground, clutching his side. His lip was cut and swollen, and half of his face was bruised, with a black eye already showing.

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you?" Lucas gasped, rushing over to his brother and inspecting the injuries.

"Mark and his friends came up to me and dragged me back here. They asked where you were and when they found out you weren't here yet they decided it would be fun to kick my ass."

"How many of them?" Jake asked.

"Three or four. Wasn't sure."

"Great odds. Jackasses." Lucas said angrily.

"It's no big deal." Nathan said quietly.

"You're kidding, right? I'm going to kill Mark. And his idiot friends."

"Lucas, don't do anything. This whole thing is so stupid."

"Nate, he attacked you when he knew you couldn't win."

"I know…"

"Where's Theresa?" Lucas asked quietly.

"She's with the girls probably. Brooke's been bugging me about how late you are by the way."

Jake chuckled to himself.

"Peyton too." Nathan grinned.

"Okay…well I'm getting you home." Lucas said, helping Nathan to stand up.

"What about…"

"Forget it." Lucas said.

"I'll go fill in the girls. Don't worry about rides, Peyton can take me home."

"Brooke should come." Nathan said suddenly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just want to sleep. There's no reason why you two can't spend time together."

"Okay…"

"I'll tell her." Jake said.

"Thanks." Lucas said quietly.

"My face hurts." Nathan said, trying to make light of the situation.

"I bet. I'm so sorry Nate."

"It's not your fault."

"They came after you to get to me."

"I don't feel like going back and forth, so um…shut up." Nathan grinned.

"Fine, fine."

"Nathan are you okay?" Brooke said, running over to the brothers.

"I've been better." Nathan mumbled, putting his head on Lucas' shoulder.

"I was gonna take him home and-"

"Get me a frigging icepack." Nathan interrupted.

"Yeah."

"Okay, we can hang out there."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Tric can wait."

"Okay."

* * *

"Ouch!" Nathan said, pulling away from Lucas.

"Sorry." Lucas sighed, holding him still so he could clean up all the cuts and scratches on Nathan's face.

"Here is some aspirin." Theresa said, handing him two little pills and a glass of water.

"Thanks." Nathan said dully, taking the medication.

"And here is one icepack, and you are good to go." Lucas said, putting the icepack to his brother's face.

"Thanks Luke." Nathan said, pressing the icepack against his face and standing up.

"I guess I'll go then. Feel better." Theresa said, giving Nathan a quick kiss on the forehead and then leaving.

"Could really…feel the love…right there." Lucas laughed as soon as she left.

"I just wanted to go to sleep." Nathan mumbled.

"Now you can. You need anything else?"

"No I'm good for now."

"Brooke and I will be downstairs if you need anything. Just shout down." Lucas said.

"Okay." Nathan said, heading to his room.

He plopped down on his bed, sighing with relief. He was so happy to just lie down and not have to think about anything.

Except the images of being grabbed and dragged into the back of the club kept running through his mind, no matter what he did.

He turned on the television, but eventually he got bored and turned it off.

He tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't get the night's events out of his mind.

_Crack._

Nathan jumped, dropping the icepack. Then he laughed nervously. It had to be something outside.

* * *

"Are you going to tell your mom?" Brooke asked, snuggling up to Lucas on the couch.

"I guess. I swear…that Mark guy. He just needs to get over it."

"I don't know what his problem is. Seriously, this is all a little extreme."

"I'm sorry our date got ruined. And I know it was because of-"

"Don't worry about it. Your little brother getting beat up by a group of idiots is a pretty good excuse."

"Lets hope I never have to use it again."

"So tomorrow how are you going to make it up to me?" Brooke asked, looking at Lucas and cocking an eyebrow.

"I will take you to the restaurant of your choosing."

"And after?"

"I will probably live to regret this, but whatever you want."

"Now why would you regret a thing like that?" Brooke teased.

"I don't know." Lucas smiled.

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow night." Brooke said later that night.

"Say about 7:00?"

"You got it."

"See you then. Thanks for hanging out."

"Anytime."

"Night. I love you." Lucas said, leaning over and kissing Brooke.

"Love you too gorgeous." Brooke whispered, pulling away after awhile.

Lucas smiled and gave her one last quick kiss.

"Bye baby." Brooke said, heading out the door.

After she left, Lucas decided to go check on Nathan. He seemed really shaky after everything that had happened.

"Hey Nate?" Lucas said quietly, opening Nathan's door.

"Yeah?" Nathan said, sitting up immediately.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"I can't sleep."

"What's wrong?"

"Look I didn't want to sound so needy when Brooke and Theresa were here, but that whole thing tonight…it really freaked me out."

"I figured. I don't blame you."

"I've been up here jumping at every small noise."

"You could've come down and hung out with us."

"No. No, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I just really wish Theresa hadn't come back with us." Nathan admitted.

"Why? She was worried about you."

"I wanted to tell you all this before, but I felt like I couldn't tell you how much it shook me up with her there. I was so freaking embarrassed. She must think I can't defend myself or something."

"You were outnumbered."

"Yeah. I just didn't feel like I could talk about it with her there."

"Brooke was there." Lucas pointed out.

"I didn't mind that. You probably would've told her anyway." Nathan grinned.

Lucas laughed too, but his smile quickly faded.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Doesn't it bother you that you just told me you trust _my _girlfriend more than your own?"

"At least for now."

"So…you're still with Theresa for now."

"Yup."

"And the Haley thing…"

"I'm still thinking about it."

"Just make sure that's all you do for now."

"I'm not going to break her and the golden boy up."

"You're so jealous."

"I am not. She could just do better."

"Like you, you mean."

"Debatable."

"I don't think so."

"Well at least you think I'm worthy. I'm pretty sure she hates me by now."

"Why?"

"Because I left her hanging for so long, then suddenly moved on and left her behind."

"I'm sure she understands what you were going through."

"You know it was almost a year ago that she and I went on our first date?"

"Wow…I guess it has."

"It seems like forever ago."

"Then you got married…damn. That was only last year."

"Weren't even seniors yet."

"Wow…"

"It's crazy."

"Yeah."

"I like my situation now though. Living here, my parents aren't insane, you're here with me, and Theresa is a lot of fun…"

"True."

"Man, my entire face hurts."

"Looks like it."

"Do you promise not to go off on those guys when you see them in school?"

"Nope."

"Lucas."

"I can't promise that when I see them, I won't be tempted to punch them."

"You can't get into another fight in school. Neither of us can afford it, it's our senior year."

"You're right…"

"And no fighting outside school." Nathan said knowingly.

"How'd you know I was thinking that?" Lucas laughed.

"Because you're like me in that respect."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Seriously though, it's not worth it."

"They did this to you to get to me."

"It's not your fault Brooke actually has taste and would rather be with you than some idiot."

Lucas laughed.

"I don't know what his problem is." He agreed.

"Oh well. He's a jackass." Nathan said firmly.

"True. It's getting kind of late…"

"Oh…yeah."

"Of course, I could stay." Lucas offered, seeing the flash of sadness in Nathan's eyes.

"You could."

"Are you okay, you still seem a little freaked."

"I was half expecting you and Jake to come and help me out."

"I wish I had been there. I wish it had been me instead. You didn't deserve this, Nate."

"Yeah, well, things happen for a reason." Nathan said, shifting the ice pack on his face and closing his eyes.

"I guess."

"Uh huh…" Nathan said quietly.

"Tired?"

"Yeah…" Nathan mumbled.

"You want me to go?"

"No…"

Lucas waited until Nathan was asleep, and then gently took the ice pack from his brother's hands.

He put the icepack down in the kitchen and sat back down in a chair in Nathan's room, eventually drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, both brothers were woken up by Nathan's cell phone ringing.

"What?" Nathan mumbled into his phone.

"Nathan?" Haley asked.

"Oh! Um, hey." Nathan said, sitting up. Lucas looked up with interest.

"Hi…I heard what happened last night. Are you okay?"

"Oh. Yeah, just some bruises. Hell of a black eye. I think. Lucas?"

"Pretty ugly." Lucas confirmed.

"Yup. Lucas thinks so too."

Haley laughed.

"Well I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And I just wanted you to know that I think that we should be friends. We can handle that, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Sure…that sounds like a good idea."

"I'm glad you think so. Listen, I've got to go, but I'll see you Monday. Tell Lucas I'll call him later."

"Okay. Bye."

"Who was that?" Lucas asked, rolling his head around.

"Haley. The hell are you doing?" Nathan asked, looking at his brother.

"I slept in a chair, Nate. My neck hurts."

"You didn't have to do that."

"It's no problem. So what did Haley want?"

"She wanted to make sure I was okay."

"That's nice of her."

"Yeah."

"Anything else?"

"Um, yeah. She said she thought we could be friends."

"And can you?"

"I guess we'll see." Nathan said.

**

* * *

**

**Next chapter picks up pretty much where this left off, so any loose ends should be tied up and the stuff I mentioned in the author's note should be happening or starting to happen.**

**Its a littlerandom with Mark, but...I have a plan! I can probably get the next chapter up in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out.**

**Please leave me a review!**


	50. Chapter 50

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Quick reminder to those who asked: Mark is the guy who was giving Brooke a hard time in either Ch 46 or 47 and Lucas and Nate kind of ganged up on him. **

**Special thanks to lucasscottlover1 for the Lucas' storyline this chapter. I think I might have tweaked it a bit, but I really liked the idea. **

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"That is one hell of a black eye." Lucas said, inspecting Nathan's injuries.

"The constant prodding is really helpful." Nathan grumbled.

"Sorry."

"So describe this Mark kid." Dan said, pouring himself some coffee.

"Why?" Lucas asked, taking Dan's mug from him.

"For the police."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, this guy assaulted you."

"It wasn't a big deal." Nathan mumbled.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Dad, it wasn't even my problem. Luke's the one they were really after."

"We'll discuss this later." Dan sighed, leaving for work.

"Ridiculous." Nathan sighed.

"He's just being protective."

"Well it's weird. And pointless."

"Are you sure you don't want to report him?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure this was a one time thing. He's not going to come after you."

"What if he goes after Brooke again?"

"He won't." Nathan said firmly.

"He better not."

"Working to restrain that anger of yours I see."

"I will do my best not to punch him in the face when I see him in school."

"You better."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Ahh the smell of old books." Jake grinned.

"Nice." Lucas laughed.

"So how's Nate doing?"

"You should see him, Mark and his lackeys sure did a number on him."

"Is he okay though?"

"Yeah. He is a little freaked though." Lucas said, rubbing his neck.

"You okay?"

"I slept in a chair."

"Enough said."

"So what are you up to tonight?"

"Jenny and I have a crazy night planned."

"Oh I'm sure."

"Peyton is coming over. We'll probably just watch a movie or something once Jenny gets to sleep. Low key. What about you and Brooke?"

"She's probably planning our evening now."

"And you're not even a little worried about giving her total control?"

"Don't freak me out or I'm leaving."

"Fine, fine. So how's the rest of your family? Heard from your mom?"

"Yeah, bunch of postcards."

"Where are they now?"

"They're actually with Andy's mom in New Zealand."

"Oh that's cool."

"Yeah, I really wish it wasn't the middle of the school year so I could go too. I wanna meet my step grandmother."

"I'm sure you will this summer. Man, imagine what Andy's got planned."

"Yeah." Lucas laughed.

"We're not going to be able to carry all this stuff home." Jake said, trying to get a good grip on the books in his arms.

"It's okay. I have my car."

"You are so lazy, you know that? You live so close."

"Okay you know that when we came that we would buy a bunch of stuff."

"That is true. Let's go to the café, I am so hungry."

"Sounds good." Lucas said, picking up his books and going to pay.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

As Nathan made his way to Tim's house, Haley almost collided with him on her way to work.

"Whoa there." Nathan laughed.

"Wow…I am so sorry, I'm running late."

"On your way to meet Eric?"

"No I've got to work at the café."

"Right."

"Where are you off to?"

"Tim's. Major catching up to do."

"Oh, sure. So how are you feeling?"

"You mean this?" Nathan asked, pointing to his face.

"Yeah…I can't believe it. Lucas told me about it this morning."

"It's no big deal."

"Are you sure?"

"Okay well I have been jumpy as hell since it happened." Nathan admitted.

"Oh Nathan…"

"Yeah, it's kind of ridiculously sad actually. I couldn't sleep at all, and Brooke and Luke were downstairs, so I waited until she left and Luke came up to check on me and I practically forced him to stay in my room with me. That's so sad though, I need my older brother to be there after I get my ass kicked?"

Haley just stared for a few seconds after his rant.

"Yeah, um, I ramble a lot when I'm nervous." Nathan said sheepishly.

"What are you nervous about?"

"You know…talking to you…"

"Listen, do you want to get coffee or something? Ease the tension?"

"That sounds good."

"I hope you feel better."

"Oh, thanks. No, I'll be fine."

"Okay well I _really _got to go-"

"Damn. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Just give me a call, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun at work."

"I'm sure I will." Haley smiled.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"I think that we definitely have a good chance of winning the tournament." Nathan told Theresa that night at dinner.

"I bet Whitey would be thrilled."

"Hell yeah. Any day now I'm betting he's going to-" Nathan was cut off by his cell phone ringing.

"Who is it?"

"Brooke…the hell does she want…hello?"

"Nathan?"

"Yes Brooke?"

"Do you happen to know where Lucas is?"

"I'm guessing not with you?"

"That would be a no. I've been waiting here for half an hour." Brooke snapped.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where he is. Try his cell."

"I did, he's not answering."

"I don't know what to tell you. The last time I heard he was with Jake at the bookstore. Give him a call and see if he knows where he went afterwards."

"Fine. Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"No problem." Nathan hung up.

"What's going on?"

"Luke is late for their date and she can't track him down."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah. Watch, he came home to get ready and he fell asleep or something."

"You think?"

"Wouldn't be surprised. So anyway are you excited for the away game next week?"

"You bet. Especially if it's anything like last years." Theresa said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh that's right…"

"Yup, I got the chickenpox and had to leave. But that was okay because Brooke was in full Cheer Nazi mode."

"Well depending on how badly Luke has screwed up tonight, we'll see how cheery she'll be."

"Let's hope Lucas has a good reason for standing her up."

"He wouldn't do this without a good reason."

"You're probably right."

"Yeah." Nathan said as Brooke's name appeared on his cell phone again.

"Jake hasn't seen him since this afternoon. Where could he be?" Brooke practically shouted.

Nathan shifted in his chair, starting to get a little worried.

"Uh listen, I'll call home and see if my parents know where he is. I'll call you back."

"You think something's wrong?" Theresa asked.

"I don't know…hey Dad it's Nate…is Luke there?"

"No he left for dinner with Brooke 45 minutes ago, why?"

"He's not there?"

"No, he left. What's going on?"

"He's not with Brooke."

"What?"

"She's been waiting there forever and he hasn't shown up."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Keith walked by the café, but the only familiar face he saw was Haley's, and he really just wanted to find Lucas or Karen right now.

He sighed and started on his way back to his apartment when a black SUV pulled up beside him.

"Keith!" Deb called as she rolled down the window.

"Deb…hi." Keith said, coming over to the side of the car.

"Have you seen Lucas?" Dan asked.

"No…I haven't…why?"

"He's missing." Deb said.

"Since when?"

"He left to go meet Brooke over an hour ago and nobody has seen him since. Nathan's called all their friends and nobody's seen him."

"Oh my God…and he's not answering his phone?"

"No."

"Okay, well I'll look and I'll call you if I find him." Keith said.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Luke!" Dan called.

"Lucas?" Deb shouted.

"Did you hear that?" Deb asked, putting her hand on Dan's arm.

"Lucas?" Dan called out.

"Dad?" A voice faintly replied.

"Luke…" Dan ran over to Lucas who was leaning forward, clutching his chest and having trouble breathing.

"Walking…to dinner…Mark…grabbed me…ran when…he thought someone was coming…because he's a tool…"

Deb and Dan laughed despite the situation.

"Okay I think we need to see a doctor…what are you feeling right now? Chest pains?"

Lucas didn't answer, he just swallowed hard and shut his eyes.

Dan cupped Lucas' chin in his hands and tried to get his son to focus.

"Luke…look at me…what happened?"

"Hurts…can't breathe…" Lucas said, still clutching his chest.

"Can you stand up?"

"Don't know…"

Dan slowly helped his son stand up. Lucas was still a little lightheaded and Dan kept him steady as they walked to the car.

"Will you call Keith?" Dan said quietly to Deb so Lucas wouldn't hear.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_"Lucas? It's Brooke. I've been here for over an hour, waiting for you. Well it looks like you lied. Again. And stood me up. But I'm not putitng up with this anymore. You told me I was going to be a priority, and you have yet to show me that. I hope you're having a great time with whatever skank you're with."_

Twenty minutes later...

_"It's Brooke again. I just talked to Nathan. He said your parents don't know where you are? Baby, please pick up. I am so sorry about what I said in my last message. I didn't mean it. I should've known you wouldn't do that. Where are you? I'm getting really worried. Please, please call me as soon as you get this message. _

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hey…hey…how is he?" Nathan said, running up to Dan.

"He's okay…it was more his heart that was the problem…he didn't get too beat up I think…" Dan said, running his thumb over the bruises on Nathan's face.

"But he's okay?"

"Yeah. He actually protested coming here every step of the way."

"He's definitely normal then." Nathan grinned.

"Yeah."

"Can I see him?"

"Yeah…hey, I called you almost an hour ago. Where have you been?"

"I took Theresa home but it took awhile to get out of the restaurant and everything."

"I understand. He's in that exam room over there. I'll be right there."

"Okay."

"Hey." Nathan said quietly.

"Took you long enough." Lucas said.

"Sorry."

"Its okay." Lucas said, stopping to catch his breath.

"We don't have to talk…its okay."

"I'm fine."

"You staying overnight?"

"No. Hell no. I'm fine."

"That's good."

Nathan looked over Dan's shoulder at the forms he was filling out.

"Eugene." Nathan snorted.

Lucas, with his eyes shut, stuck up his middle finger.

Nathan dropped his jaw and then laughed.

"What?" Dan asked, looking up.

"Nothing."

Lucas turned over, smiling.

"Okay, I'll be right back, wake up Luke and we can get out of here."

Nathan leaned over Lucas.

"Rise and shine asshole." He whispered in his brother's ear.

Lucas sat up and smiled sweetly.

"We're heading home. By the way I wouldn't check any voicemails from Brooke until you've had a good night's sleep."

Lucas' eyes widened.

"Damn. Dammit. She must be pissed. I can't believe it."

"She kept calling me when I was out with Theresa."

"Sorry. Dammit."

"No problem, she'll understand. Man, I was worried though."

"It just took me awhile to get up after Mark ran off."

"He ran off?"

"Yeah he thought he heard someone coming and literally dropped me as he was shoving me against the wall and ran off."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Without his idiot gang he's a total coward then?"

"He is a total coward anyway, getting three friends to gang up on you."

"That's true."

"Okay, time to go home." Dan said, poking his head in the door.

"Be right there." Lucas mumbled.

Nathan stuck out his hand and pulled Lucas up. Then he pulled his brother into a quick hug.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm fine, Nate. I got off a lot better than you. I'll be fine."

"I keep forgetting that you're sick. It still doesn't seem real sometimes."

"I'm not _sick, _Nathan." Lucas said defensively, moving away.

"You know what I meant."

"Whatever." Lucas sighed.

"Are you going to be like this all night?"

"No…sorry…just tired."

"I know. Hey, think of it this way, only our friends have to know. I have physical proof of ass kicking."

"There is that."

"You still seem tweaked."

"Well some asshole assaulted me on the street."

"Yeah…"

"This whole thing is ridiculous."

"We can deal with it tomorrow."

"I can deal with it."

"He came after me too, you know."

"I know."

"What time is it?"

"Like 10:00. Why?"

"Look, we can go home and just chill. Watch a movie or something. Forget about it until tomorrow."

"I guess."

"Yeah." Nathan said, steering Lucas down the hall to the waiting room towards Dan.

And Keith.

Lucas stopped short, Nathan bumping into him.

"Hi…" Keith said nervously.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Please leave me a review :-) **


	51. Chapter 51

**Goodness. I meant to finish this ages ago, I swear. School, homework, work, and driver ed have just been taking up all of my free time. The good news? I eventually just decided to split this chapter in half which means I just have to fill in some of the story for the second half and will (hopefully) post that soon. **

**This has some major Brucas-ness because my poor heart was broken by the past two episodes and the preview for this coming week.**

* * *

Lucas swallowed hard and just stared at Keith.

Nathan instinctively put his hand on his brother's shoulder for support, while wishing that Keith decided to make his appearance to Lucas _any _other time but now.

"Long time no see." Lucas said finally.

"Danny, can I take Lucas out for coffee or something? I can bring him home, I promise."

Dan looked to Lucas, who nodded silently.

"I don't know." Dan said slowly.

"Come on, Dan. Please." Keith sighed.

"Luke has had a long night and-"

"Just let me go." Lucas said hollowly.

"Fine. Not too long. We'll see you at home." Dan said, leading Nathan away.

"So…" Keith said slowly.

"I believe you mentioned coffee?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Okay."

"Listen…"

"I know you've been here awhile."

"Dan told you."

"Yeah, he did. I thought it was pretty shitty of you to just leave here for months on end, but it was nothing compared to coming back here, crashing my mom's wedding and then continuing to ignore me."

"Lucas…"

"Did you get my emails and phone calls?"

"I did."

"Nothing I said grabbed you?"

"Of course I was worried."

"Bull. You would've come back or responded, at the very least."

"That's not fair."

"You know what's not fair? Having your uncle, your father figure, tell you that there's nothing worth staying for in the town you live in."

"I know…"

"Then you come back to my mom's wedding and don't even talk to me?"

"Because I was angry! I was understandably angry. I was nervous as hell to even come here. Everything has changed so much and I am just sitting here trying to figure out what the hell I've come back to. Your mom is married, you're sick and Dan is suddenly someone I have to go through to get to you."

"Well the world didn't stop spinning just because you weren't around."

"I'm sorry I didn't come back before. I'm sorry I didn't respond."

"I know…"

"I missed you and your mom so much. I was in such a dark place that I didn't want you to see me like that."

"We would've helped you. You know that."

"I couldn't face it. At least not your mom after all that had happened between us."

"Do you still love her?"

"I will always love her in one way or another. But she is married to Andy and I am happy for her."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You know, with all the bad things that have happened this year…I am still really happy."

"Well I'm glad you found an ideal situation." Keith said, slightly angry that this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

"It's not ideal, I just have been doing my best to deal with everything."

"I asked Danny for permission to take you out tonight. I never ever thought I would do that."

"Things have changed."

"They have. So you and Danny…"

"What about us?" Lucas asked.

"You're getting along? You him, Nathan, you're all okay now?"

"Pretty much."

"What changed? Was it because I left and you needed someone to be there?"

"No…we just talked after he was in the hospital. I realized that life was too short to dwell on the past."

"But you gave him a second chance. That's huge. What if it doesn't work out?"

"I'm not waiting for it to fall apart. I'm just taking the opportunity to get to know my father and make up for lost time with Nate. It's true that you leaving probably made way for some of these changes, but it's not the only reason."

"I just can't imagine him being a father, Luke."

"He has." Lucas said tightly.

"I guess." Keith said dismissively.

"You know who was there for me when I started having symptoms of HCM? When I had a heart attack? When I had any other personal problems? It wasn't you this time, Keith. You don't get to judge whether or not he is a good father anymore. You haven't seen it."

"I'm not trying to get you all worked up."

"I'm fine." Lucas muttered.

"I'm sorry. It's going to take some getting used to."

"I guess."

"I'm back now, Lucas. I came back because I love you and your mom and I don't want to miss anymore of your life."

"You're back. For good?"

"For good."

"Good." Lucas admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You don't seem too happy." Keith said.

"I'm trying to get used to it. Like you are."

"I'm sorry I sprung this on you."

"Look I'm really tired…"

"I promise to call you soon. Okay?"

Lucas nodded silently and got out the car

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked as Lucas walked into his room. 

"Confused."

"Sounds about right."

"Yeah. What are you watching?"

"Comedy Central."

"Great." Lucas said, sitting down on the floor.

Nathan moved down and put his arm around his brother.

"Did it help to talk to him?"

"I guess."

"It probably could've waited until another night."

"I'm fine."

"I know, but you understand why people would get worried."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just don't want to seem like I'm so weak and sick that I need to constantly be taken care of."

"Nobody thinks that."

"Dad apparently does."

"Just give him a break. He was worried, he still is learning how to be a real dad."

"I know."

Dan knocked on the door a few minutes later and poked his head in the door.

"What masterpiece are you two watching?"

"Old School."

"Nice. So listen, now I really need to know more about this kid."

"Mark?"

"Yeah. You're not getting around this you two. You two both could've been seriously hurt and Luke ended up going to the doctor."

"I didn't need to." Lucas said mostly to himself.

"Say it all you want but you couldn't breathe for awhile and whether or not you think so, it requires medical attention."

"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Lucas asked, shrugging out of Nathan's grasp.

"Lucas." Dan sighed.

Nathan reached out to his brother who moved away. He sighed, confused as to why his brother was suddenly acting like this.

"Not now." Nathan said quietly to Dan, but looking at Lucas.

"Fine." Dan said, closing the door.

"I'm so sick of this."

"I don't want to make a huge deal out of this, but what's with the hiding and the way you were talking to Dad?"

"I don't know." Lucas said, standing up and leaving the room.

"Come on, talk to me."

"I'm going to sleep. I have to go to Brooke's tomorrow to explain everything."

"I already filled her in."

"Thanks. I'm still going to sleep."

"I think you should talk to me first."

"Well I think you should just let me go to sleep."

"Luke, come on."

"Nathan just drop it." Lucas snapped, heading into the bathroom and picking up his bottle of medication.

"I just want to help you. If Mark tries something I don't want you to have to go to the hospital again."

Lucas didn't respond. He shut his eyes for a moment and then hurled the bottle of pills against the wall as hard as he could.

Nathan just stared at Lucas as he heard the pills hitting the floor.

"I am _not _sick." Lucas said quietly, staring at the floor.

"I didn't say you were." Nathan said shakily.

"You did before. You're still thinking it."

"Luke…"

"Just leave me alone."

Nathan nodded quietly and went to his own room.

Lucas turned around, ignoring the mess on the floor and studied his reflection. He looked tired. Like he hadn't slept in a week, and his eyes were tinged with red, like he was trying to stop himself from crying. Or screaming. He wasn't sure which.

The next morning Lucas walked into Nathan's room with some Pop-Tarts in his hands and sat on his bed.

"Nate?"

No response.

"Natie." Lucas said in a singsong voice. He took a bite of the Pop-Tart as he waited for a response.

"Are you getting some kind of food all over my bed?" Nathan mumbled eventually.

"Yes."

"Did you bring me some?"

"Here." Lucas said, holding one out.

"Thanks." Nathan said, feeling around for it.

"Nate…I'm sorry." Lucas said, placing himself on Nathan's level waiting for him to open his eyes.

"What got into you last night?" Nathan said, finally opening his eyes and sitting up.

"I don't know…I'm really sorry."

"Look…it's okay. Really. I get it. I think. Just don't get mad at me anymore because I'm worried about you."

"I don't know it just drives me crazy when you get all…concerned and stuff." Lucas finished lamely.

"Yes love can be annoying." Nathan said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't want to be like this anymore. I just want to go back to the way things were."

"When?"

"When I was still able to play basketball…when I didn't know what it was like to be completely drained…to feel like I was dying…"

"Yeah." Nathan said quietly.

"I didn't mean to bum you out. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm actually heading to Brooke's for the day."

"Uh huh."

"Yeah." Lucas said, sitting up.

"Hey…I love you okay? I just want you to be safe."

"I honestly don't know why I get like that. Just…I don't know, just don't smother me okay?"

"You got it. Now let me get back to sleep."

"Oh whatever, I've stayed up with you tons of times."

"Yeah but you yelled at me so go away."

"Fine." Lucas laughed

* * *

Lucas pulled into the parking lot still feeling like a jackass. He could tell Nathan was still hurt from how he had acted last night. 

He got out of the car and jumped as he heard another car beep its horn on the street. Damn. He was feeling the same way Nathan did after getting beat up. Nervous. Scared.

After sprinting up the stairs to Brooke's apartment, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Brooke opened the door to find Lucas leaning against her doorway, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Brooke I am so sorry-"

"I heard everything. It's okay. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just a bad circumstance. Bad timing."

"Are you sure?"

"Seriously, I don't know why my dad insisted on taking me to the doctor."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was ridiculous. But I wanted to make it up to you so we are having dinner tonight. I promise."

"Okay. These are beautiful." Brooke said, taking the flowers.

"I'm just so sorry that we got messed up again last night. I just want to be with you and things seem to get in the way so much. I'm going to make it up to you. I promise. I really do."

"Let's just stay here tonight." Brooke said suddenly.

"Okay...are you sure? I know staying at home isn't exactly your ideal way of spending the day."

"Yeah, it'll be great and I can know you're safe."

"You sound like Nathan. He was going on and on about how I was sick and stuff and it was driving me crazy. I just got the wind knocked out of me and had some chest pains, it wasn't like another heart attack."

"He was just worried."

"My dad was the worrier. He's the one who insisted we go to the freaking doctor even though after like two minutes I felt fine."

"Oh well that's nice though."

"I guess."

"Come in, let me take care of you."

"I'm fine though."

"Shut up and let me take care of you." Brooke said.

"Yes ma'am." Lucas said

* * *

"Nathan do you know what is going on with Lucas?" Dan asked. 

"He just doesn't like people worrying about him. It embarrasses him when he is short of breath, or when he blacked out at the basketball court."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Not exactly, but it's not exactly hard to tell."

"I guess not. I just want to be there for him."

"He told me this morning he didn't want to be 'smothered' so I'm not sure how well he's going to take it."

"Will you please just let me call the police about this?"

"You know that would make Lucas furious."

"I can deal with that."

"Can you really? Everything is a little precarious right now concerning Lucas."

"You think I should just sit back and watch you two be miserable?"

"We're not miserable. We're going to be fine."

"I don't know how I feel about taking parenting advice from my seventeen year old."

"It's better than nothing. You still could use some."

"Ouch. But probably fair."

"You're doing better. I promise."

"That means a lot, Nate."

* * *

Brooke snuggled up to Lucas on the couch and wrapped her arms around him. 

"I'm so happy you're okay."

"Thanks…I am fine though."

"Promise me you won't leave?"

"I promise. I'm here until after dinner tonight."

"Good."

"You wanna know something?"

"Yeah."

"I was nervous as hell coming up here."

"Because you thought I was mad?"

"That too."

"What else?"

"I got out of my car, and I jumped at almost every noise in the street."

Brooke's eyes widened with realization.

"Oh. Oh Lucas I had no idea."

"Me either until I got out of my car. I got out and then I just ran up here as fast as I could, I got so freaked out."

"It's normal."

"I know…"

"Here, let me get you something to drink."

"Okay. Anything is fine."

"I'll be right back."

Later, Brooke sat on the couch with a pillow on her lap as Lucas was sprawled across the couch, his head resting in her lap.

She sat there stroking his hair absently as he drifted in and out of sleep.

"What's this?" He mumbled.

"Project Runway marathon. You've been out for like two hours."

"Really?"

"Yeah, didn't get much sleep last night?"

"Not really. I was a total jackass to my dad and Nate."

"What happened?"

"I just got tired of being fussed over and I just wanted to sleep…so I was kind of rude to my dad and I completely lost it with Nathan. So of course then I didn't get any sleep."

"Lucas why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know…I just feel like an idiot."

"Did you work things out with them?"

"Um, well I talked to Nate but he was kind of asleep and will probably realize how much of an idiot I am in a few hours…but not my dad though."

"Oh, you should."

"I know…"

The doorbell rang, causing Lucas to jump a little.

"Relax its just the food I ordered."

"Oh…right."

"Here," She said, handing him some food, "so are you and Nathan still getting along then?"

"He said he forgave me but I could tell that he was still upset. I seem to be using him as a punching bag lately when I'm upset, but I don't know how to stop."

"He understands. I know he does."

"And it's not like he doesn't have enough going on."

"Such as?"

"Trying to work things out with Haley?"

"You mean, like dating her? Getting back together?"

"I don't know. Hell, he doesn't even know."

"What is he going to do?"

"He asked her to coffee or something so they could talk."

"I wonder how that will go."

"I'm hoping really well. That he can work some stuff out in his life and move on from there."

"Me too."

"I just want him to be happy."

"He will be."

"Yeah."

"You're so sweet, you know that?" Brooke said, pulling Lucas close and kissing him softly.

"Thanks." Lucas said, pulling her to him and hugging her tightly.

"Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

"I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Luke?" Nathan knocked on Lucas' door later that night. 

"Yeah?"

"I need a favor." Nathan said, coming in.

"Sure, anything."

"I need you to talk to Haley about me to see what she feels about..us."

"I'm having a middle school flashback here. Why don't you just call her up like you planned?"

"I asked her to hang out so we could talk but I don't know how to bring it up again."

"I don't think me talking her and then reporting back to you behind her back is the best way to go, Nate. I'm sorry. I really wanna help you."

"I don't know what to do though."

"Call her. She's not going to say no."

"What if she…"

"She won't."

"You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"Whatever it was, she won't."

"Are you sure?"

"You need this."

"Okay."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Nathan said, picking up his cell phone and dialing Haley's number.

"Hello?" Haley answered.

Nathan quickly hit the 'End' button and dropped the phone.

Lucas reached over and picked up the phone, placing it in is brother's hands.

"You both need this. You can do this."

"Okay." Nathan said, dialing again.

"Hello?" Haley answered again.

"Hey it's Nathan. I just wanted to make a definite plan so we could talk..."

* * *

**I know that's probably not worth the wait, but I hope you like it anyways. If you need me, I'll be lying facedown somewhere muttering incoherently about how much free time I used to have. **

**Or I might be finishing up the next chapter. You never know ;-) **

**I definitely promise more Naley-ness the next chapter. Their little meeting will be...fun to say the least. **

* * *


	52. Chapter 52

**Hi there!**

**It's been a long, long, long time. For that I apologize. I majorly fell off the OTH wagon. But now I've been thinking about this story a lot, I've read through it three times and I'm ready to write. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Nathan sat on a bench in the park, drumming his fingers against the seat.

He then remembered Lucas threatening to rip off his hand if he kept drumming his fingers on various surfaces and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Haley asked, breaking his thoughts. She sat down beside him and smiled.

Nathan smiled back. He couldn't believe it took him so many years to notice how beautiful she was.

Then he realized he hadn't replied and was just staring.

"Oh. Yeah. I was just drumming my fingers on the bench, which drives Luke crazy and…yeah. Old habits. You know."

"Right." Haley nodded.

"Yeah."

"So…how have you been?"

"I've been alright. My face is looking normal again."

"That's good. Do you think you and Lucas can finally go a week without any trouble?"

"Maybe. It's not like we go looking for it. Often."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid to Mark and his friends."

"I promise. You know me Haley."

"That's why I wanted you to promise." Haley laughed.

Nathan laughed too. It was nice to joke again.

"So what have you been up to?" He asked.

"School, college applications, the usual."

"Same."

"How are applications going for you?"

"They're fine. I hate writing essays though. I just hope my grades are good enough, they sucked up until last year as you know. I hope that I can impress the scouts enough to get into a good school."

"I'm sure you will Nate, you're so talented. Any school would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm still really proud of you. Before you hardly even cared about school, but here you are working on college applications."

"Thanks Haley. Not to disappoint you or anything, but…"

"But what?"

"You know… sometimes I think that maybe it would just be easier if I skipped the whole college thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like, try to start a basketball career right after high school. What the hell am I going to do in college anyway? I'm not smart like you or Luke. I don't really know what I would major in, and I would just want to focus on basketball anyway. I sometimes don't see the point."

"Nate you are definitely smart, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Of course I think college is great and all, but you need to do what's right for you. What do your parents think?"

"I haven't told them. I'm not prepared for the ass kicking my father would give."

"Yeah." Haley grimaced.

"I haven't actually told anyone that I was thinking about that."

"Not even Lucas?"

"Not even Lucas."

"Wow."

"I don't know why I haven't told Luke. I don't think he would be a fan of the idea though."

"Maybe not. He's always wanted to go to school and be able to talk about books and writing all day."

"He already does." Nathan laughed.

"That's true."

"I forget what a nerd he is sometimes."

"Hey!" Haley swatted his arm.

"Hey what?" Nathan grinned.

"Nerds are awesome, okay? I love learning too."

"I guess being nerdy isn't so bad."

"Damn right."

"Haley, can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Nate."

"Sometimes I miss you a lot. It's actually pretty much all the time." Nathan admitted.

"I miss you too Nate. But I don't exactly know what that means anymore."

"I don't understand."

"I think what we had was really special. It was crazy, brave and romantic to go off and get married."

"Yeah. It really was."

"But then sometimes I think it was good to end it. The marriage part at least."

"I just felt so ready to do it."

"I did too Nate. You're always going to be my first love. But I don't think marriage was, or is the right thing for me to do right now."

"We're a little young for it I guess."

"There's just so much I want to do. I mean, people got to hear my music and they loved it. People wanted to know me and to hear what I had to say."

"Listen Haley, I'm glad the tour was good for you and all, but—"

"Nathan I need you to know something." Haley interrupted him.

"Go ahead."

"Me wanting to go on tour was never about anyone but me. It wasn't about wanting to leave you, or wanting to be with Chris. I didn't want either of those things. I just _needed _to go out and put myself out there, you know? It was an incredible experience."

"I guess it really was."

"And sometimes I think, I might just go and do it again."

"Really? Like after college?"

"After college, during college, I don't know. Maybe I'll put it off a few years. College, I mean."

"Haley, if anyone in the history of the universe needed to go to college it is definitely you."

"Thanks Nate. That means a lot.

"Listen. I should get going. But this was awesome. I'm glad you came."

"Me too Nate. Want to hang out again sometime?"

"If its okay with you. And I guess if its okay with Eric."

"Nate…"

"I'm just saying Haley."

"I wasn't thinking of this as a date or anything…"

"Oh me either." Nathan said quickly.

"Good." Haley said, studying his expression for confirmation that he was telling the truth.

"I just think this is important that we get along. I think you were right when you said its hard to know what exactly missing each other means."

"You do?"

"To be honest…dammit I'm just going to lay it on the line for you. I've been jealous of Eric at times. But then there are other times where I'm happy to be with Theresa and to be doing the regular high school senior thing."

"I know what you mean. Its nice to date and be normal."

"I thought you were dreaming of being a big music star a few minutes ago." Nathan teased gently.

"Hey, I'm not saying I don't want the best of both worlds. Its just a confusing time."

"Very true."

"So what do you think?"

"Hey, I just told you one of my secrets. I think we can at least hang out and be friends."

"I would love that."

"You know what's crazy?" Nathan grinned.

"What's that?"

"I heard some kids at our school got married last year. The guy was a basketball star and the girl was this quiet girl who became a music star."

"That's just nuts!" Haley laughed.

"What a weird town we live in."

"You speak the truth my friend."

"See you later Haley."

"Bye Nathan." Haley said, stepping towards him. She paused for a moment and then hugged him tight.

"Thanks for this."

"Always."

* * *

Nathan walked up to his room and saw an unfortunate sight through one of the doorways. Lucas was sitting at his computer, Brooke sitting on his lap, and they were making out.

"Luke! Get a room!" Nathan yelled.

"This is my room." Lucas laughed, blushing a little.

Brooke immediately jumped up and ran over to Nathan, her eyes wide.

"Tell me everything!" She exclaimed.

"It was good. Really good actually."

Silence.

"Come on Nate, I'm dying here." Brooke protested.

"Yeah, are you guys friends or what?"

"We're definitely friends. We had a really good talk about everything."

"Does she want to get back together?" Lucas asked.

"No, not really." Nathan said thoughtfully.

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am. I mean, what did I expect?"

"I'm glad it went well for you." Lucas nodded.

"Oh look at the time, I've got to go to work." Brooke said suddenly, gathering her stuff.

"You do?" Lucas asked.

"Yes. Goodbye for now boyfriend. We'll pick up where we left off later." Brooke said, giving him a kiss and running down the stairs.

"Close the door next time!" Nathan yelled after her.

They heard the front door slam.

"She didn't really have to work did she?" Nathan asked, turning back to Lucas.

"She's probably speed dialing Haley as we speak."

"Girls." Nathan rolled his eyes.

"So…video games?"

"Absolutely."


	53. Chapter 53

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! It feels good to be back!**

* * *

"Hey." Nathan said, sitting down across from Lucas at their usual lunch table.

"Hey yourself. How's your day been?"

"It's been alright. I actually raised my hand to answer a question in math earlier. Everyone stared at me like I had three heads."

"Did you get the question right?"

"Hell yes I did."

"That's awesome Nate."

"Thanks. So…this weekend."

"What about it?"

"The away game?"

"Oh yeah. Are you ready for it?"

"Definitely. I know there will be important people there. I've got to kick some ass."

"You will Nate. I know it."

"Thanks Luke. So…"

"Yes?" Lucas smiled.

"You're coming, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I wish you were playing with me, man. It would make this so much better."

"I know Nate. Me too. It just isn't possible."

"It sucks." Nathan said sadly.

"It really does."

"The other night, with your medication. Are you okay?"

"Yeah dude. I'm really sorry about how I acted."

"Thanks but I actually meant do you have enough left? Do we need to talk to Dad?"

"No I'm good. Despite my best efforts, those bottles are pretty sturdy and I have a lot left. Not that many hit the floor. It sounded more dramatic than it was."

"Okay. Good. Look, I know you're not sick. But I can't promise to stop worrying about you. I can promise to trust your judgment though."

"Thanks Nate. That means a lot."

"However, if you have another moment like that I reserve the right to do what I think is best. Your health is more important to me than your big ego."

"I definitely do not have a big ego." Lucas said with mock indignation.

"It's a Scott family tradition. Anyway, deal?"

"Deal." Lucas laughed.

"Hey boys, am I interrupting?" Theresa asked as she walked up to the table.

"Not at all. How are you?" Nathan asked, jumping up and kissing her.

Lucas was kind of surprised to see him still being so affectionate towards Theresa but decided not to worry too much about it. It sounded like Nathan and Haley had come to some sort of an understanding.

"I'm good. Brooke and Peyton should be here soon. I think. They're kind of in a fight." Theresa sighed.

Nathan looked at Lucas, who shrugged.

"Peyton just told Brooke she's been making plans to move to California right after graduation. She's been getting in touch with anyone she can out there so she can start working somewhere in the music industry. Brooke is _not_ happy."

"Peyton's always wanted to do that though." Nathan said.

"That doesn't mean her leaving hurts any less." Lucas pointed out.

"True. I wonder what Jake thinks." Nathan wondered.

"What I think about what?" Jake asked, arriving at the table.

"Did you know Peyton was off to the West Coast right after graduation?" Lucas asked.

"Of course. And…I'm going with her. I applied to schools out there, she wants to be out there, and it all makes sense. If I don't go to school, I'll work instead. We've been talking about this for awhile."

"Wow. That must mean you guys are really serious." Nathan mused.

"We have a really good thing going. Jenny loves her, I love her, and it makes sense to see where we can go."

"That's awesome Jake." Lucas smiled as Brooke and Peyton walked over.

"I'm glad you think so." Brooke grumbled, sitting down next to Lucas.

"Brooke, we'll still talk all the time. Plus you can come visit. Hey, you could even apply to FIDM and we would be in the same state." Peyton pleaded.

"Maybe." Brooke said quietly.

"Theresa what are your plans for school?" Lucas asked, already desperate for a subject change.

"I'm really hoping to go to UNC."

"That would be great." Lucas agreed.

"I'm just glad I finally got those stupid applications done." Nathan said.

"It will be worth it little brother, trust me." Lucas reassured him.

"Are you two trying to go to the same place?" Peyton asked.

"Umm…" Both boys replied.

"Wow." Brooke laughed.

"We've talked about it a lot, and we both know where the other is applying but we're going to make our decisions separately and share them once we've decided once and for all. Some of the schools we chose are the same, so we'll see." Lucas said.

"I kind of can't imagine the two of you apart anymore." Jake said.

"It would be really hard. We probably would have tried harder to end up in the same place but our parents, _all _of the parents, strongly encouraged us to make this an individual choice." Lucas said.

"It's kind of an interesting experiment. See how alike you guys really are." Jake pointed out.

"We'll see. There are a lot of schools out there." Lucas said quietly

"So, to bring up more happy thoughts, has anyone seen Mark?" Nathan asked. This wasn't his favorite subject for a variety of reasons.

"We were talking about that in homeroom. Nobody has seen him." Brooke said.

"Good." Nathan said firmly as the bell rang.

* * *

"How was school?" Karen asked as Lucas came through the doorway.

"It was fine. College is the main focus of every conversation these days."

"Speaking of which, you got two letters today. One from UNC and one from Syracuse."

"Really? Are they…"

"I have to say there seems to be a lot of paper in there just to say no." Karen smiled holding out the envelopes.

Lucas grinned and ripped them open.

"I got in." He said quietly, looking up.

"Oh baby I'm so proud of you!" Karen exclaimed giving him a huge hug.

"Thanks Mom."

"I knew you were applying to UNC, but what made you decide to apply to Syracuse? That's quite a distance."

"Basketball."

"I didn't realize you applied before you quit."

"I didn't. I just knew it was a school Nathan might be interested in."

"I thought you guys weren't basing these decisions on each other."

"We aren't. I just decided to look into it before we made the pact. They have a great writing program. It's kind of the best of both worlds. Even if I was able to play basketball, I don't think I have the same shot at a career that Nate does. I love basketball, but he lives and breathes it and he's thought of nothing else his entire life. I've always pictured myself writing anyway if I wasn't going to end up playing basketball."

"That sounds perfect for you."

"Thanks Mom."

"So what do you tell your dad? It must be hard for him and Deb to keep these things secret."

"I'm not sure. That should be interesting."

"What are Brooke's plans?"

"She wants to design clothes or jewelry and have her own store. She's considering design schools but you know her, she does her own thing. She applied to some of the schools I did too."

"It sounds like she might just be following you though."

"Maybe. Selfishly I don't mind the idea of her coming with me wherever I end up."

"You really love her don't you?"

"She's the one, mom. She always should have been. I just don't want to ever screw that up again. I feel like I'm already missing a huge amount of time that I should have been with her and I don't want to add to that."

"You've come a long way Lucas, I'm proud of you. You know I love Brooke too don't you?"

"Yeah. I know she feels the same way about you."

"Just be sure she takes care of her own needs too okay? She is such a special person and she deserves to show the world just how talented she is."

"Absolutely." Lucas agreed.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't she be here soon? We'll be eating in an hour."

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Ask and you shall receive." Lucas laughed as he opened the door.

"Hello boyfriend." Brooke smiled.

"Hey there we were just talking about you."

"Oh?" Brooke cocked an eyebrow.

"We were saying how awesome you are."

Brooke looked to Karen for confirmation.

"It's true. I'll be in the kitchen." Karen said.

"Care to share your conversation?" Brooke asked.

"Well, first I have to tell you. I got into UNC and Syracuse."

"Oh my God! I'm so proud of you Lucas. That's amazing! Remind me where Syracuse is?"

"New York. State, not city."

"How far from city are we talking about?"

"Some hours by train I think."

"Oh. I was hoping that it would be a lot quicker for us to visit if we end up in different places."

"I told my mom you were unsure about school."

"What did she say?"

"She just wants to make sure you are doing everything for you, and not just coming with me wherever I go."

"I like being where you are." Brooke said, kissing him.

"Me too, trust me. I would love to be with you all day, every day. But I want to make sure you end up where you belong."

"I belong with you."

"Brooke…" Lucas smiled.

"Preferably in New York City. In a fabulous apartment with a huge closet." Brooke grinned.

"I'll see what we can do about that." Lucas laughed.

"But you said Syracuse isn't nearby, plus you applied to other schools. And what about Nathan?"

"We'll see. I still hope that there's a solution where we can all end up in the right place and still stay close by each other. I don't want to lose what I've found, with either of you. I just know that college is four years, but our future goes way beyond that. We'll make it work no matter what. I promise."

"That makes me so happy."

"Me too."

* * *

After Brooke left that night, Lucas decided to call his brother.

"Dude I was just about to call you." Nathan said when he picked up the phone.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Apparently Mark was arrested the night he followed you."

"What for?"

"He had been drinking and he decided to smash in some windshields on his way home. Did he seem drunk to you?"

"That wasn't really on my mind when I saw him, but now that you mention it, he did seem out of it. Plus he kind of just let go of me really quickly and bolted when he thought someone was coming."

"Yeah, well. I guess that solves our problem."

"Does it?"

"Apparently he's off to military school. His dad is even more of a hardass than ours ever was."

"How do you know that?"

"Dad told me. Apparently they do know each other."

"I guess it's a small town."

"Son I need to talk to you." Dan interrupted.

"Now? I'm on the phone with Luke." Nathan protested.

"Now, please." Dan said firmly.

"I gotta go dude." Nathan said.

"What's up? Was that dad?"

"Yeah. I don't know. I'll see you tomorrow. Night." Nathan hung up.

* * *

"We need to talk Nathan." Dan said sternly.

"About what?"

"Your mom found several of your brother's pills behind the sink when she was cleaning."

"Yeah. About that...he was really frustrated the other night and threw the bottle. But he told me that he had plenty left so don't worry."

"Don't worry? He could have been lying to you Nate. Why would you let him do that?"

"Dad I couldn't exactly stop him from having a reaction like that. He doesn't want to hear that he's sick. That upsets him and he reacted to it in a bad way. Why don't you talk to him about this?"

"You need to be honest with me when these things happen. You can't just be his friend and let him hurt himself just so he feels better about his condition. You have to tell us if he's having problems."

"Once again, this is not my problem, it's something you need to talk to Luke about. Why the hell am I being blamed for this?"

"I'm not blaming you Nathan—"

"Yes you are. You would rather get mad at me than get mad at him, which isn't fair. You're the one who wants to act like his buddy all of the time. If you're going to be his dad then you have to be his dad for everything. You're allowed to get mad at him. I sure have. You need to trust me when I tell you that he is taking his medication and he will be okay."

"Fine." Dan sighed.

"Are you going to talk to him?"

"I trust you. I don't see any reason to talk with him."

"You have to have the hard conversations with him too. It's not fair to him either if you are afraid."

"I'm not afraid, Nathan."

"Then why—"

"Go to bed son. You have school." Dan said quickly, getting up and leaving the room.

Nathan sat there, stunned.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucas felt uneasy about the way his conversation with Nate had ended. He wondered what Dan wanted.

After half an hour had passed, he decided he wasn't going to hear anything that night. He studied the bottle of pills in his hand. He may have lied a little to Nathan about how many were left, but he still had half the bottle.

"I'm not sick." He said to no one, dropping the bottle and letting it roll under his bed.


	54. Chapter 54

**Thanks for reading/reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

Nathan wandered into homeroom almost in a daze. He was still reeling from his conversation with his father the night before.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, not looking up from his book.

Nathan stared at his brother in disbelief.

"How can you do that so well, man? You weren't even looking at me."

"I'm brilliant."

"Or?"

Lucas laughed and looked up at his brother.

"You sighed really loudly when you came in."

"I didn't even notice."

"So what happened? Was it Dad?"

"Yeah. Listen, you're okay right? My mom found some pills behind the sink. Dad is really worried." Nathan said quietly so nobody would hear.

"I already told you I'm okay. It wasn't that many, I just didn't do a good job cleaning up. I'm sorry. Did you tell Dad I'm okay?"

"Oh, not you too." Nathan sighed.

"What?"

"Can you two talk to each other instead of using me as the messenger?"

"I'm not following."

"Forget it."

"Nate."

"Luke, it's okay. Forget I said anything."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I promise."

"Suit yourself." Lucas said, pulling out a notebook and pencil.

"What's up?" Peyton asked, walking over and setting down her backpack.

"Not much." Nathan grumbled.

"What are you working on Lucas?" Peyton asked.

"My life story." Nathan grinned.

"I thought I saw the word dumbass a few times on the page." Peyton grinned.

"Hilarious." Nathan said.

"Is Brooke speaking to you yet?" Lucas asked.

"I think she's focusing her anger towards Jake now."

"Captain 'I Don't Give A Damn'? That's a useless battle." Nathan laughed.

"Tell me about it. I've been trying to get him interested in pursuing music out there."

"I've never really heard him play." Nathan said.

"I want him to play at Tric. Do you think Haley would be interested?" Peyton asked.

"Hell if I know." Nathan replied.

"I can ask if you want." Lucas offered.

"Great. I'll talk to your mom and see if we can do it by the end of the month."

* * *

"Hey best friend." Haley greeted Lucas in the hallway.

"Hey Hales. What's up?"

"Hey Tutor Girl. Hey Boyfriend." Brooke said, coming up behind Haley.

"Hello." Lucas smiled.

"Am I interrupting?" Brooke asked.

"Not at all. I was just going to ask Haley if she wants to play at Tric."

"Really?" Haley asked.

"Peyton wants to organize a show."

"Oh great." Brooke sighed.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked.

"Peyton is off to California after graduation to try to take over record companies. Or whatever."

"Really?"

"Jake's going too." Lucas said.

"Crap. I've got to go. I'm sorry Brooke. Come over tonight?" Haley asked.

"Sure. I'll text you." Brooke smiled.

"Great. Oh and Luke? Count me in." Haley said.

"Awesome." Lucas smiled.

"Bye!" Haley called as she ran off.

"How are you doing pretty girl?" Lucas asked, turning back to Brooke.

"I'm okay."

"I heard you were channeling some Brooke Davis rage towards Jake."

"Yeah but he's not fun to fight with."

"Why fight with anyone?"

"I'm just tired of it. Peyton's self-fulfilling prophecy. People always leave."

"Brooke…"

"I just don't want to be left behind."

"Brooke. You're with me always. Peyton has a dream and she wants to follow it. She's going to be your best friend no matter what."

"I want to be wherever you are."

"Is it incredibly selfish of me to want to take you with me wherever I go?"

"Go with that feeling." Brooke grinned.

"You're trouble." Lucas laughed, leaning in to kiss her.

* * *

Nathan sat on the bleachers tossing a basketball between his hands. He was early for practice.

"What's up Nate?" Jake asked, putting his bag down and sitting down next to Nathan.

"Just thinking about something my dad said to me last night. I think he's afraid to confront Lucas about stuff. Like he's happy to have Hallmark father/son moments with him, but the tough stuff still scares him."

"It probably does. Luke may be seventeen but Dan is still new at this. With both of you, really."

"That's true. It's all on my shoulders sometime. My dad is afraid to yell at Luke so he yells at me instead. That's familiar to him."

"Well luckily my kid doesn't talk yet." Jake grinned.

"I don't know what to do. I told him that he needs to be a father for the good and bad things. I just hope he listens."

"That's all you can hope for."

"Thanks man. You're so much cooler than I ever gave you credit for."

"Right back at you."

"I'm sorry if I ever was a jackass to you. I'm sure I was."

"Nah you were okay."

"You probably thought I was not worth getting to know after the way I acted."

"I have to admit, I thought being in your circle might be exhausting."

"And now?"

"And now I know it is." Jake grinned.

"Hilarious, man. Really hilarious." Nathan laughed and rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Hey sweetie." Karen greeted Lucas.

"Hey mom. How was your day?"

"It was good. So listen, your father is coming over tonight."

"He is? Why?"

"He wants to talk to us."

"Is Andy going to be okay with that?"

"Well Andy had to head off to Charleston for a meeting so it's okay."

"If you say so."

"Hey son." Dan said when Lucas opened the door later that night.

"Hey Dad. I'm surprised you're here."

"Me too. But I felt that I needed to talk to you. And your mom."

"Well come on in."

"Hello Dan." Karen said as they entered the kitchen.

"Hey Karen. Thanks for having me."

"Of course. We're having lasagna."

"Great. My favorite." Dan said.

"I remember. Your son agrees." Karen smiled.

They all sat down around the table and made small talk for a few minutes.

"So, I guess Deb told you she found some of my pills on the floor?" Lucas blurted out. He knew what this was about, so he might as well get it over with.

"What?" Karen gasped.

"It's okay. I promise. I just had a moment of frustration and threw my bottle of pills. It was stupid but I didn't lose that many."

"Lucas you need to take care of yourself." Karen said.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"The reason I wanted to talk to you both is because I was afraid to confront you about it myself Lucas. I'm sorry."

"You were afraid to confront me? Why?"

"This is all new to me, Lucas."

"I don't understand."

"I feel like I don't have the right to lecture you."

"Oh." Lucas said quietly.

"Your brother once gave me great advice. He told me to stop being a dick. I thought that was the hardest part. Once I got over that hurdle, I thought it would be smooth sailing. I'm not really sure why."

"I'm still a kid, Dad. I'm going to screw up. I have screwed up plenty of times."

"Yeah but I always got to you first." Karen said.

Dan laughed.

"It would be so much easier if I could just talk sports with you and let your mom do the tough stuff. But that's not what being your dad is about to me. When we started this relationship I promised myself I would be a real father to you, and I'm not keeping up with that promise. For that I apologize."

Lucas swallowed hard.

"I apologize to both of you." Dan said pointedly.

"Thank you Dan." Karen said.

"Thank you Dad."

"So what happened the other night son?"

"I don't like being told I'm sick. I hate people treating me like I'm fragile. I just got mad and it was stupid. I won't do it again."

"Do you really think we treat you like you're fragile?" Karen asked.

"Sometimes."

"You might not be sick, but you have a heart condition and that means your life won't ever be completely normal. I know that I didn't have to give up basketball, but you do remember that I also have HCM?"

Lucas was silent.

"Lucas?" Karen studied her son's face.

"I'm sorry Dad. I've been wrapped up in my own experiences. I actually kind of forgot you had it too."

"It's okay. It really is. My point was that you can talk to me about it. You're not alone in this."

"Thanks Dad."

* * *

"I'm glad we did this." Karen said to Dan while Lucas was in the kitchen clearing dishes.

"Me too Karen. Thanks for letting me do this. And thanks for letting me have a second chance with him. I in no way deserved it but you'll never know how grateful I am for the opportunity."

"I really didn't want to give you a chance."

"Understandable. I know I hurt you, and I hurt Lucas. I'm so sorry Karen."

Karen didn't say anything, but she took Dan's hand and smiled tearfully.

"I should have told you years ago."

"Thank you Dan."

"I've had so much regret. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to try and fix things."

"I'm glad you're taking the chance. I really am."

"That means a lot Karen. You did an amazing job raising him. You definitely didn't need me, but I wish I was there."

"I wouldn't say you weren't needed, but thank you Dan."

"Getting to know him has been incredible. Getting to know Nathan has been too. I didn't know him before. It's amazing."

"Nathan is wonderful. Lucas loves him so much."

"I love that they're best friends." Dan agreed.

"Who would have thought we'd end up here?"

"I never had any idea."

"This has been really great." Dan said again.

"It really was."

"I want to be friends Karen."

"I think we can do that. We were close once."

"What about Andy?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"Sounds good. By the way, Luke I can see you so you might as well come join us." Dan called.

Lucas laughed from the kitchen.

* * *

"Thanks for everything Karen." Dan said as he was getting ready to leave.

"It was my pleasure. Truly. I'll let you two say goodnight."

"I guess I'll see you Friday at the game." Dan said to Lucas.

"Definitely."

"I hope you don't feel like we're smothering you. We all just worry because we love you."

Lucas widened his eyes. Dan had never said that to him before.

Dan smiled and pulled his son into a hug.

"I love you kid."

"I love you too Dad."

Lucas went upstairs and immediately got his medication out from under his bed and took it. He was being ridiculous and he was not going to hurt his family with his pride.

* * *

Nathan sat at his computer staring at his email.

He looked down when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Lucas.

**"Greatest talk with Dad. You're the best. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."**

Nathan smiled for a minute, but his smile fell prey to his nerves when his eyes went back to the email he was reading.

Someone from Duke was going to be at the game on Friday. This could change everything.

* * *

**Oh Nate. I'm looking forward to writing about this away game. **

**Leave a review if you'd like! Thanks for reading.**


	55. Chapter 55

**Hi all! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you had a great 4th of July. Or if you don't celebrate, a lovely Thursday.**

**Speaking of fireworks, let's get to the next chapter shall we?**

* * *

"So this may be shaping up to the best week ever." Lucas said, sitting down at lunch.

"How so?" Nathan asked.

He still hadn't told anyone about Duke. Or how nervous he was about the game tomorrow.

"Whitey just asked me to help him out at the game tomorrow. And for the rest of the season."

"Help out?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Say hello to your assistant coach, little brother." Lucas grinned.

"That's amazing!" Brooke exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lucas.

"I feel like I should be scared." Nathan laughed as he felt a sense of relief flood through him.

"I've seen that smile, Nate. You should be." Haley teased.

"Oh jeez."

"This is great Luke. Congratulations." Jake nodded.

* * *

After the bell rang, Lucas and Nathan gathered up their stuff to head to history together.

"I have to tell you something." Nathan said quietly.

"What's up? Should I have talked to you before saying yes?"

"No. Not at all. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm so freaking excited you're going to be with me tomorrow night. I just didn't want to say why in front of everyone."

"What's up Nate?" Lucas asked, studying Nathan's expression.

"Someone from Duke is going to be at the game."

"Are you serious?!"

"Yeah man. This could be it."

"You deserve it Nate."

"Thanks. I'm nervous as hell though."

"You have nothing to worry about. Just do what you always do."

"I hope so." Nathan sighed.

"We'll just have to make sure you're ready."

"Why am I starting to think Haley was right to warn me?" Nathan laughed.

* * *

"So Broody, now that we have Friday night all booked up, what are we going to do the rest of the weekend?" Brooke asked as they headed to the gym for practice.

"Well…I did have a thought."

"Do tell."

"My mom decided to go join Andy on his trip to Charleston. They won't be back until Tuesday."

"How interesting." Brooke said, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought so." Lucas said, leaning in to kiss her.

"You sure they'll be gone?"

"Positive. I've been looking forward to this. That is, if you're ready—"

"Your place or mine?" Brooke whispered.

"As long as I wake up with you it doesn't matter." Lucas kissed her again.

They didn't stop for a few minutes, until Brooke pulled away.

"We have practice, mister. Save that for tomorrow." Brooke smiled.

"You got it." Lucas laughed.

* * *

Friday night came a little too soon for Nathan, but he felt a lot more confident than he had just two days earlier.

"You go ahead Luke. I forgot something on the bus." Nathan said, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

"Okay. See you in there."

Nathan wandered back to the bus. He pulled out his phone to check the time.

Out of nowhere, he felt himself get slammed against the side of the bus.

"What the hell?!"

"One Scott down, one to go." An unfamiliar voice hissed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Now that your brother is off the team we just need to do something about you. Too bad we can't hope for a heart attack like we could if Lucas was still playing."

"Screw you, jackass." Nathan said, pushing the guy off him.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Hey!" Another voice boomed.

Keith came out of nowhere and shoved the kid against the bus.

"You think it's okay to pull this kind of stunt?" Keith yelled.

"Whoa back off man. We were just talking. What do you care?"

"I care because this is my nephew and you definitely were not just talking. Don't think I didn't hear that crack about my other nephew either. Now if you can't handle playing a game of basketball without intimidating your opponent, that's not anyone's problem but yours."

"Whatever man."

"Don't make me find your coach and make sure you don't play for the rest of the season." Keith said darkly.

"Hold up. No need for that." Nathan said.

The guys on the other team looked surprised, but remained silent.

"Nathan…"

"It would give me great pleasure to soundly kick their ass. Not that I wasn't going to already but this just makes the impending victory even sweeter." Nathan grinned.

"We'll see."

"Yeah we will." Nathan said firmly as they walked away.

"You sure about that Nathan?" Keith asked as they walked into the gym.

"Absolutely. By the way thanks. That was totally badass, Keith. Who knew you had it in you?"

"Anytime Nathan."

"Hey…you two." Lucas said slowly as they approached him.

"Hey nephew. I heard about the coaching. That's great. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Keith." Lucas said quietly.

"Keith!" Deb called out from the bleachers.

"I guess I better go. Kick some ass you two." Keith smiled.

"Sure thing." Nathan said.

"What was that all about?" Lucas asked.

"Later. I promise. Now I've got to crush some dreams." Nathan smiled.

"Give them hell." Lucas laughed.

He stuck out his fist. Nathan pounded it before jogging out onto the court.

* * *

Nathan never had greater motivation to win a game. The score was 38 to 6, with two minutes left. There was nothing to worry about but Nathan felt like adding as much damage as he possibly could.

"Dude we are _murdering _them. Whatever it is, keep it up!" Tim said right before the whistle blew again.

"I plan on it." Nathan said quietly.

One minute left.

Nathan got the ball from Jake and made his way down the court.

The guy who tried to assault him earlier tried to block him.

"This is for my brother. Bitch." Nathan hissed, easily evading him and slamming the ball in the basket.

The buzzer sounded and one side of the gym exploded in cheers and applause. He smiled at the bewildered player in front of him and searched for his brother.

Lucas had a huge smile on his face.

"Way to go man!" Eric said, giving him a high five.

"Thanks. Great game." Nathan said breathlessly.

Jake grinned and gave him a nod.

Nathan made his way over to Lucas who was still smiling. He pulled his brother into a tight hug.

"I knew you could do it." Lucas said quietly.

"Thanks man."

"I'm proud of you little brother."

"Alright, good job men." Whitey said, addressing the team.

"That was our best game yet." Tim said.

"Let's hope it keeps on getting better. You made me proud tonight. That being said, if any of you ladies are late for practice tomorrow thinking you can get away with murder, you can enjoy a two mile run and extra drills. I've got some people to talk to but let's not dillydally getting back on the bus, okay?"

"Party at the beach house." Nathan called as the rest of the team headed to the locker room.

"Does Dad know about that?" Lucas teased.

"Of course. You coming?"

"We can for a little bit. However, Brooke and I had other plans." Lucas said slowly.

"Ah. I see. Well okay then but I expect you to make it up to me tomorrow."

"I'll buy you lunch."

"Deal. Any chance you'll get face time with the scout?"

"Nah, unfortunately."

"Damn straight." Whitey grumbled.

"Come on coach!"

"What, do you want me to have your mommy talk to him too?" Whitey asked before walking off.

"Worth a try." Nathan shrugged.

* * *

"Hey Jagielski, it's nice that you finally decided to start showing up to after game parties this year." Nathan said when he opened the door.

Peyton rolled her eyes and led Jake into the house.

"Hey there superstar." Theresa said, greeting him with a kiss, which he eagerly reciprocated.

Nathan was so excited and in the moment that he didn't realize that Haley and Eric had walked in while he and Theresa were making out.

"Hey guys." Eric laughed.

"Hey. Sorry. Come on in." Nathan said quickly, embarrassed.

Haley gave him a quick hug before following Eric.

"You were amazing tonight." She whispered in his ear.

* * *

"Hey Haley." Lucas said, walking up with Brooke.

"Hey yourself! How was your first game on 'the other side'?"

"Not bad at all. I'm so excited for Nate."

"Me too. Hey did Jake tell you he's going to play with me at Tric next month?"

"Really? That's great. Do we know when it's going to be?"

"Not yet." Peyton sighed, coming over for a refill.

"What's wrong P Sawyer?" Brooke asked.

"It's just a lot of work. When is your mom getting back Luke?"

"Tuesday."

"Good. I need her help. See you guys later."

"Wait, so are you and Jagielski playing separately or do we have to worry about you both running off on tour together?" Brooke teased.

"Please. We might do one song together but I don't really know his style too well. Hey Luke can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure. Be right back." Lucas said to Brooke, following Haley.

"Guess what?" Haley said as soon as they were alone.

"What?"

"I got into Stanford." Haley said, her eyes wide.

"Haley! That's amazing. I'm so proud of you." Lucas said, hugging her.

"Thanks. I'm so excited. I still can't believe it."

"Was Eric excited for you?"

"You're the first person I told."

"Seriously?"

"It had to be you Luke."

"That means a lot, Hales."

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

"I'm not sure what to say to Eric. I know graduation isn't for a few months, but I don't know how to plan for this."

"For what?"

"Like, do I worry about staying close to him? I like him a lot, but I don't know if I'm at the point of being part of anything serious."

"I don't know Haley."

"Are Nathan and Theresa factoring each other into their decision?"

"I don't know." Lucas said again.

"Okay. It's just that between them, and you and Brooke, and Jake and Peyton, I don't know what couples are supposed do in this situation."

"Do what feels right. That's all I can say."

"Thanks Luke."

* * *

"Ready to go?" Lucas whispered in Brooke's ear a little while later.

"Of course." Brooke jumped up and followed Lucas through the crowd.

"See you tomorrow" Peyton called.

"Hey guys, heading out?" Nathan said, putting down his drink.

"Yeah we are. I'll be home tomorrow okay?"

"Looking forward to it. I love you." Nathan said, hugging him again.

"Love you too little brother. Enjoy tonight. You deserve it."

"Thanks Luke. It's been one of the best nights I've had in awhile."

* * *

Lucas woke up the next morning feeling completely at peace. Brooke was still sleeping, her head on his chest.

He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning boyfriend." Brooke said quietly, smiling.

"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay."

"I slept great." Lucas said, sitting up and wrapping his arms around her.

"Me too."

"I wish we could wake up together every morning."

"I look forward to the day that we will." Brooke smiled. She reached down to the floor to try and find her phone.

"The outside world can wait, can't it?" Lucas groaned.

"I'm just seeing if we missed anything good last night."

"I can't think of anything better than last night."

"Same here. Oh wow, five texts and two voicemails. We might not have missed everybody, but they sure missed us. Or at least me."

"Funny." Lucas laughed, reaching for his own cell phone.

"What the hell?" Brooke said quietly.

"What's wrong?"

"I have three texts from Peyton saying I better call her ASAP. One from Haley saying 'I thought we were past secrets' and one from Nate saying—"

"I'm sorry." Lucas finished for her, showing her his phone which had the same message on it.

* * *

**BOOM. Drama. Get ready for a TON of it next chapter. **


	56. Chapter 56

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

"We haven't seen him since last night. What is he sorry about?" Lucas wondered out loud.

"Beats me." Brooke said, scrolling through her texts messages again.

Brooke and Lucas stared at each other in confusion for a moment, but they were soon interrupted by banging on the door.

"I'm afraid to answer the door." Brooke whispered, getting up and smoothing out her hair.

"I'll get it." Lucas offered.

He was surprised to find Haley standing on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing here? Did you know about this?" Haley demanded.

"Know about what?" Brooke asked, coming up next to Lucas.

"Brooke, don't you dare try to play dumb with me. How could you keep this from me?"

"What are you talking about Haley?" Lucas asked.

"She slept with Nathan!" Haley shouted.

"What?!" Brooke screeched.

"You heard me." Haley said coldly.

Lucas was too stunned for words. Brooke took a deep breath and looked Haley in the eye.

"Haley. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Brooke, you can't be serious."

"I promise you that I am being honest here." Brooke said.

"Liar!" Haley shouted.

"Hey!" Lucas said quickly.

"Lucas how can you possibly defend this?"

"She just said it wasn't true—"

"Everyone saw it! It was on tape!"

Lucas felt his blood run cold. This couldn't be happening.

"What do you mean it's on tape?" Lucas asked.

"Brooke and Nathan made a sex tape, Luke. Your _brother_ and your _girlfriend_ have a sex tape that they kept a secret!"

"Haley, please. There's got to be some mistake." Brooke pleaded.

"Video doesn't lie, Brooke. We all saw it."

"Who's we?" Brooke asked tearfully.

"Everyone at the party. Someone dug out a tape and started playing it thinking it was game highlights or something. Nope, just turns out to be the two of you doing it."

Lucas looked at Brooke, trying to keep his composure.

"Lucas, I really don't know anything about this."

Lucas nodded and gently took her hand, then turned back to Haley.

"Haley. Are you sure it was them?"

"Positive." Haley said.

"Do you know when it was made?"

"Lucas you can't be serious." Brooke protested.

"Tell me what's on the video." Lucas said to Haley.

"It's Brooke and Nathan drinking and talking about people they've slept with. Including my sister, by the way. Nathan said that he and Peyton had been broken up for two weeks."

"I remember when that happened. She thought they were over for good that time." Brooke said quietly.

"See?" Haley almost shouted, gesturing to Lucas.

"But I definitely don't remember having sex with Nathan!"

"You really don't, do you?" Haley said, studying Brooke's face.

"Haley, I promise you that I don't remember this."

"See, Haley. She says it didn't happen."

"Actually…that's not what I'm saying."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, taking both her hands in his.

"There's a lot of nights I don't remember. I've woken up plenty of times not remembering what happened." Brooke said, not looking Lucas in the eye.

"Are you saying this might be true?" Lucas asked, his heart sinking.

"I don't want it to be. But apparently there's video evidence. And let's be honest here, I was not known for making great decisions, especially when I had been drinking."

"No. Nathan would have said something. He wouldn't keep this from me. Not anymore."

"Lucas." Haley sighed.

"It can't be true." Lucas shook his head.

"I'm so sorry Lucas." Brooke sobbed.

Lucas took her in his arms, still completely dumbfounded by everything he just heard.

"I'm sorry Brooke." Haley said.

"For what? You were right."

"I should have asked you about it instead of coming in here and yelling at you."

"I'm sorry too Haley. I can't blame you for being upset." Brooke said, giving her a hug.

"What do we do?" Haley asked.

"What is there to do? Besides crawl into a hole. Everyone is going to be talking about this. What did Nathan say?" Brooke asked.

"He turned it off as soon as he could. He kicked everyone out. He was pissed."

"It sounds like he remembers it better than I do." Brooke muttered.

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" Lucas said, he voiced strained.

"I don't know baby. Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening."

"Brooke, I have to warn you. Peyton saw—"

"Hell yeah, Peyton saw it. I can't believe this!" Peyton yelled, storming in the doorway.

"Peyton I had no idea." Brooke pleaded.

"Had no idea what? That I'd see it? I bet that's true." Peyton ranted.

"Peyton I was drunk, I don't remember that night at all."

"Yeah, I'm sure. All that crap you put me through with Lucas and you're just as bad? I can't believe you Brooke!"

"Peyton please, just let her explain—" Haley started to say.

"Just as bad?! Are you kidding me Peyton?" Brooke yelled.

"And you? Defending this?" Peyton gestured to Lucas, ignoring Haley's protestations.

"Peyton she wasn't in a good state of mind, she wasn't trying to hurt you." Lucas said.

"Oh bullshit. Hypocrites. You're all hypocrites."

"How are we hypocrites?" Lucas asked, getting angry.

"Apparently you still don't have any regard for the sanctity of relationships if you're defending her. Or Nathan."

"Peyton's that not fair." Haley said calmly.

"I'm so done with this. I'm so done with all of you." Peyton said quickly, storming out.

As soon as the door slammed Brooke sank to the ground, sobbing once more.

"She's just angry, she'll come around." Haley said, dropping down beside her.

"I really screwed up this time." Brooke said.

Lucas knelt down and hugged her again, stroking her hair.

"I'm going to find Nathan." Haley said suddenly, standing up.

"What for?" Lucas snapped. Nathan was the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

"I just need to know what the hell happened. I'll let you know what I find out. I'm sorry Brooke." Haley said, putting her hand on Brooke's shoulder.

"It's okay Haley. I would be pissed if I saw a tape of my husband with some slut. Ex-husband. Whatever."

"You're not a slut Brooke. You're my friend and I believe what you're telling me."

"Thanks Haley." Brooke smiled.

"Stay here." Haley said as she opened the door to leave.

"Like I want to go anywhere where I can be seen." Brooke said.

"We'll stay here."

"Maybe you should go find Nathan." Brooke suggested.

"No. I need to be here with you. Besides I think I'm not in the right mindset to talk to him right now."

"Thank you for being here."

"Of course." Lucas kissed the top of her head.

* * *

Nathan had woken up extremely early. Or to be more accurate, he stopped pretending to sleep very early that morning. He was way too worked up to actually go to sleep. He had been wandering the streets of Tree Hill for quite a long time.

"Nathan!" He heard someone say his name sharply.

Nathan sighed. He knew he was in for a world of trouble.

"What the hell was that last night?" Haley demanded, catching up with him.

"Haley I never meant for that tape to be seen."

"Obviously. How could you do that to me? Or to your brother? Hell, your friend Brooke? How do you possibly justify that?"

"It was a mistake. A mistake I was trying to keep in the past."

"So you intentionally kept that from me."

"Listen, it was a one-time thing. It meant nothing. We were just having fun and it was a long time ago."

"That's sick Nathan. She doesn't even remember what happened!"

"What are you talking about? She's the one who suggested we film it."

"Yeah because she was drunk out of her mind!"

"She was always drunk at these parties. It's not like we were cheating on anyone."

"Nathan, please listen to me when I tell you that Brooke literally has no recollection of that night."

"Was Lucas with you when you were talking about this?"

"Don't even try to suggest that she was lying to him. I saw it in her eyes Nathan. She is devastated by this."

"Okay, okay. You're right. She did seem particularly wasted that night." Nathan admitted.

"What happened Nathan? How could you possibly do this?"

"It wasn't supposed to be a big deal. We were at my house, everyone had left. Peyton and I were broken up and of course she was still a major bitch about it so she left early. It was just me and Brooke. We were drinking, and talking. Eventually we started talking about sex, and we thought it would be funny to rate people that we knew. Then, uh, well you know what happened."

"Oh my God Nathan." Haley said, exasperated.

"Look Haley, I was a jerk back then. We were talking and I realized that I could—"

"Could what? Get a girl into bed easily?"

"Yeah." Nathan said almost inaudibly.

"You disgust me." Haley said darkly.

"Haley it's not like you didn't know this is the way it used to be!"

"You took advantage of her, and what's worse is that you filmed it!"

"That's not fair Haley."

"I agree. Because she has to live with this."

"I have to live with this too!"

"Somehow you always come out of these things unscathed."

"You think I want to face her? I'm so sorry about all of this Haley. I can't believe Luke hasn't come and beaten my face in."

"You're lucky he hasn't found you. He's too busy comforting his girlfriend who is probably still sobbing."

"Haley you've got to understand how bad I feel about this."

"Oh please." Haley said, turning to walk away.

"Haley!" Nathan yelled, grabbing her arm.

"Forget it. Damn you fooled me. Once again, you got me. I was just thinking we could at least be friends but you're the same son of a bitch you've always have been. You might have everyone else fooled but I won't let myself fall for it again."

"That's not me anymore. You know that." Nathan said weakly.

"I can't do this anymore. I've forgiven way too much already."

"Please."

"Everyone, including your brother, has forgiven way too much from you."

"Lucas knows I would never try to hurt him."

"We'll see about that."

"How can I prove to you that this is not who I am anymore?"

"You can start by apologizing to Brooke. But if I were her and Lucas, I'd be done with you too." Haley said, finally making her exit.

* * *

Nathan stood outside Brooke's apartment, feeling like he might pass out. He had never been so nervous to see someone in his life.

He feebly knocked on the door, almost hoping nobody would hear.

Unfortunately for him, the door opened and his brother's expressionless face appeared behind it.

Nathan took in the sight in front of him. He had no idea what Lucas was feeling. His face was a total blank.

Lucas however, could tell his brother was absolutely terrified. He just wasn't sure if he cared.

Nathan walked wordlessly past his brother, stopping briefly to pat his shoulder, and knelt down in front of Brooke who was sitting on the couch.

"Brooke. I am so sorry." Nathan said quietly.

"Nathan I don't know what to say." Brooke whispered.

"I knew you were drunk, but I was having a really good time joking around with you. I just wanted to forget all the drama with Peyton and basketball and my dad and—"

"You knew I would be up for it." Brooke said sullenly.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it after. I can't believe I didn't just destroy the tape."

"I forgive you Nathan."

"You do?" Nathan asked, his eyes wide.

"We weren't at our best back then. It's not like I can claim to have been a better person."

"Brooke that's a lot to forgive." Nathan said slowly.

"Yeah, well, I'm just an incredibly amazing person." Brooke smiled, wiping away tears.

"I happen to agree. Luke is lucky to have you."

"He knows." Brooke winked at Lucas.

"Thanks Brooke. Seriously. I don't deserve it at all, but having your forgiveness means a lot to me."

"Come here." Brooke said, giving him a hug.

Lucas sat down next to Brooke and gave his brother a half-smile.

"I'm sorry Luke. I should have told you." Nathan said quietly, standing up.

"Yeah you should have." Lucas agreed.

"I just felt like I could bury it at first because you and I weren't really close the first time you dated. This time around, once I knew how serious you guys were, I just felt terrified. I didn't want to do anything to mess up your relationship. Or ours."

"I guess I understand."

"I never wanted to hurt you. Either of you."

"I know." Lucas nodded.

"Are we okay Luke?"

"Um…"

"Please forgive me." Nathan pleaded.

Lucas looked at his brother, who seemed completely devastated.

"We're on our way to being okay. I just have to shake off the weirdness of this whole thing." Lucas laughed awkwardly.

"Once again, I'm really sorry."

"Thanks Nate." Lucas said quietly.

"It's amazing how much has changed." Brooke said.

"Yeah, for real." Nathan agreed.

"So did Haley find you?"

"Oh, Haley ripped me a new one." Nathan said, sitting down in a chair across the room from Lucas and Brooke.

"You should have seen her march in here this morning." Brooke said.

"She was crazy pissed off." Lucas agreed.

"I noticed. She was pretty harsh."

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked.

"I will be. Definitely deserved to hear everything she had to say, it just was really hard to hear, especially coming from her. I guess I should get going. The parents are going to wonder what the hell happened to me."

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Lucas asked, peering at his brother.

"Not at all."

"I should probably go too." Lucas said to Brooke.

"Yeah." Brooke said sadly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nathan asked.

"I will be. I'm stronger than I seem."

"You're one of the strongest people I know." Lucas smiled, leaning in to kiss her.

"I love you Broody."

"I love you too Pretty Girl. Don't let anyone get you down." Lucas kissed her again.

"I won't. Bye Nathan." Brooke said, giving him another hug.

"You sure we're okay?"

"Yes. I promise. Let the past make you better, not bitter."

"Easier said than done." Nathan said sadly.

* * *

After Nathan and Lucas left, Brooke summoned up the courage to call her best friend.

"What do you want?" Peyton asked as she answered the phone.

"I want to talk. Nathan and Lucas just left."

"I can't believe you all. I really can't."

"Peyton I know Nathan is your ex but why are you so angry at me? You said that night you were done with him for good."

"You gave me so much grief about what happened with Lucas. I just don't understand how you can justify doing the same thing to me."

"Peyton, I'm really sorry about everything that happened but it is _not _the same thing. It wasn't like I intended for that to happen."

"Oh so you accidentally fell into bed together?" Peyton said sarcastically.

"I was too drunk to know better. I never meant to hurt you. It was stupid and I'm sorry."

"Well I don't forgive you. I can't believe Lucas or Haley forgives either of you."

"They were willing to listen to me instead of jumping to the conclusion that I'm some kind of a whore."

"If the shoe fits."

"You know what Peyton? Screw you. You're just trying to justify your own actions. But you know what the difference is? Nathan was not your boyfriend at the time. You swore up and down you were done with him and that you were ready to move on. I wasn't trying to move in on him behind your back. The difference is that Lucas was my everything and I'm lucky enough that he still is."

"I got so much hate from everyone at school, all of our friends because of what happened with me and Lucas. Why is it fair that you don't have to live through that?"

"You don't think I'm humiliated too? How do you know that people aren't talking about this?"

"Whatever. Go bitch about me to Lucas and your new BFF Haley." Peyton hung up.

* * *

Lucas and Nathan went home in silence. They had a pleasant enough dinner with Dan and Deb, talking about the game and the upcoming spring break from school.

After dinner Lucas wandered up to his room and started shuffling through his school stuff. Nathan knocked quietly on his door.

"Hey." Lucas said, sitting down on his bed.

"Hey. Can we talk?" Nathan asked, sitting down at Lucas's desk.

"Sure."

"What made you forgive me so quick? I would understand if you were still completely pissed."

"To be honest, I was beyond pissed off this morning. This morning was crazy. You're lucky I didn't see you earlier, I wanted to punch you in the face."

"What changed?"

"You came in and went straight to Brooke to apologize."

"Really?"

"Really. I was really pissed at the fact you took advantage of her. I mean, I hate that you didn't tell me, but I cared more about her in that moment."

"Wow."

"But I understand why you didn't tell me."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I guess if I had a secret like that, there would be no good time to tell you. Somehow I wish you did though."

"Me too. I'm sorry Luke."

"It's okay. I promise. There's no reason to hold onto any anger from that."

"Thanks man."

"By the way I slept with Haley."

"What?!"

"Just kidding." Lucas grinned.

"You're sick." Nathan laughed.

"So I guess last night ended pretty badly then, huh?"

"Yeah. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but Theresa broke up with me."

"She saw it?"

"Yeah she was not happy. I mean she knows it was a long time ago and all, but that's not really the reason she broke up with me."

"What is the reason then?"

"She said she knew I wasn't fully into the relationship."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning when the tape came up I didn't go to reassure her first. I went to someone else."

* * *

"_Check it out!" Someone yelled._

"_Oh hell no. Brooke is rating the basketball team on their sex skills!"_

_"A four?! You've got to be kidding me! I rocked your world!" _

"_Wait a second…"_

"_Holy shit they're about to do it!"_

"_What the hell?" Nathan yelled, running into the living room._

"_Damn Nathan, you and Luke seem to share everything!" _

_Nathan slammed the power button on the television and surveyed the scene in front of him. Everyone looked shocked, but some were amused._

_And some were seething with anger. Including Haley who was still staring at the blank television screen._

"_What the hell was that Nathan?" Theresa asked._

_Haley looked at Nathan finally. She just shook her head and walked out of the house._

"_Haley, wait!" Nathan yelled, chasing after her. _

* * *

"Haley." Lucas guessed.

"Yeah."

"She took this whole thing really hard."

"Brooke said she was really pissed."

"Yeah, once she realized that Brooke honestly didn't remember anything, I think she channeled her rage towards you."

"Believe me, I know. She said she was done with me."

"She didn't mean it."

"What if she did?"

"You can't think that way. She knows who you are now."

"She said she's forgiven too much." Nathan said, his voice strained.

"Hey. Look at me." Lucas said, standing up and pulling Nathan up.

"What?" Nathan said, not really meeting Lucas's eye.

"You are so much more than your past. I know it and she knows it too. Things like this are actually a reminder of why I love you. Looking at who you've become, it's amazing. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. That guy in the video is a completely different person, and I'm not just saying that out of wishful thinking."

"Thanks Luke." Nathan said, finally looking straight at Lucas.

"She'll come around." Lucas said, pulling his brother into a hug.

"I really miss her Luke. Last night I realized, I don't think I ever completely stopped loving her."

"I know Nate." Lucas said softly.

"So what were you saying the other day about it being the best week ever?" Nathan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know. I shouldn't tempt fate." Lucas laughed.

"What was up with Peyton? She joined in on the bitchfest too?"

"Yeah, I'm actually really pissed off at her. The way she spoke to Brooke was awful."

"Sounds like it."

"I hate myself every day for what I did to Brooke. For Peyton to throw it in our faces was uncalled for."

"Do you really think about it every day?"

"Yes, actually. Some days more than others. It reminds me to never throw away what I have with Brooke."

"You can't hate yourself forever Luke. Brooke forgives you. Why can't you forgive yourself?"

"There's just a lot of regret there. If I knew that there wasn't really anything there with Peyton, maybe Brooke and I would have been together this whole time."

"I hear what you're saying. I just realized that thinking about the 'what ifs' won't change anything. Take our family for instance. Instead of dwelling on what our childhood could have been, we just need to enjoy what we have and what we built from nothing."

"You're absolutely right Nate."

* * *

"So can we inject some sanity into our lives?" Nathan said awhile later.

"Meaning?"

"We need Jake. He always deals with these things well. Where the hell has he been all day?"

"I don't know he wasn't with Peyton earlier. He might be scared of how pissed off she is." Lucas said, pulling out his phone to send Jake a text.

"She'll get over it." Nathan said dismissively.

"You might owe her an apology too."

"I guess. I just feel like we've talked that subject to death. Our relationship sucked."

"Give it a try. She'll appreciate it. By the way Jake says he's been working at the café all day avoiding the drama." Lucas said, looking at his phone.

"He's got the right idea. At least he gets to hide." Nathan said.

"He asked if we want to come over."

"Yeah let's go."

* * *

"So fun day, right?" Jake joked as he opened the door.

"Very funny." Lucas said, rolling his eyes.

"Luke I tried to stay even longer at work but your mom kicked me out."

"Does she know what happened?" Nathan asked.

"I gave her a brief overview because she saw Haley stomping away from you." Jake said to Nathan.

"Oh that's right we were near the café. Dammit I am never going to do anything right in Karen's eyes."

"Relax. She thinks you're great. Really." Lucas assured him.

"Everyone in Tree Hill knows what a screw up I am." Nathan sighed.

"Well the good news is you aren't alone." Jake pointed out.

"How's Peyton?" Nathan asked.

"Still ranting and raving last time I checked. I think she's coming around though. She still feels awful about what happened with you guys so anything that reminds her of that sets her off. I think she also feels bad about what she said to Brooke."

"I don't get her deal." Nathan said.

"I think it's more complex than just what happened last night. I think she and Brooke are at a weird place in their friendship because they're facing separation for the first time."

"So it would be easier to 'break up' now?" Lucas asked.

"That's my guess. I know Brooke and Haley have gotten close lately which is another sore point for her. Like maybe she'll be replaced once we go to California."

"I wish they would just talk about that instead." Lucas said.

"Me too. Please don't turn into one of the crazies." Jake said to Jenny, who was in her bouncy seat.

"Do you think Brooke's okay?" Nathan asked Lucas.

"I don't know. I hate that I had to leave her."

"Brooke!" Jenny giggled.

"Want to go visit?" Nathan suggested.

"Always." Lucas smiled.

"I'll come with you but I can't stay too long. This little monster has to go to bed soon." Jake said, picking Jenny up.

* * *

Lucas knocked on Brooke's door.

"Who is it?" Brooke called tentatively.

"It's me." Lucas said.

"No boys allowed!" Haley yelled, opening the door.

"Forget that." Brooke said, running up to give Lucas a hug.

"Hey. Feeling better?"

"Much better. Hi Jenny! Come join our girls club." Brooke smiled, taking her from Jake.

"Can we come in?" Nathan asked, looking past Brooke at Haley.

Haley gave him a small smile.

It was better than nothing. Especially compared to the way she looked at him earlier.

Brooke surveyed the three guys standing in front of her.

"This is doing absolutely nothing to help my reputation, but come on in. We're watching movies and they're all chick flicks so don't say I didn't warn you."

"Hey." Nathan said quietly to Haley, sitting next to her on the floor. Everyone else was in the kitchen getting snacks.

"Hey yourself. Listen, I'm really sorry about earlier. I just blew up. I wasn't being fair."

"You weren't wrong."

"It doesn't justify me speaking to you that way. I know you've come a long way since then. I was once your biggest supporter and I'm sorry I turned my back on that."

"Thanks Haley."

"How are you doing? Is everything okay with you and Lucas?"

"Yeah we're okay. Apparently you yelling at me bought me enough time that he decided not to kick my ass."

"What about Theresa?"

"Not so much. We broke up."

"Oh Nathan. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"What did she say?"

"Oh. You know, she was pissed about the tape. She said she found it hard to trust me after that." Nathan lied.

"You really liked her though."

"I did. But maybe it's for the best."

"Maybe it is."

"Hey Hales, do you remember when the most exciting part of our weekends was getting a high score in Scrabble?" Lucas asked, coming back into the room.

"Sadly, yes." Haley laughed.

Nathan looked at them both and laughed in disbelief.

"You two are nerds."

"Nerds are awesome!" Haley protested.

"They're not so bad." Nathan said, smiling at her.

* * *

**So I know this happened on the show, but I stopped watching before that so I don't exactly know what happened afterwards.**

**More excitement to come. My internet was out the past few days so I had plenty of time to write.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	57. Chapter 57

**Thanks for reading/reviewing! Let's have some more fun, shall we?**

* * *

Lucas woke up from an unsatisfying sleep to find his brother lying on the floor beside his bed.

"Nate?" Lucas jumped off his bed and shook his brother awake.

"What?" Nathan mumbled.

"Jeez, I thought you were like dead or something. What are you doing on my floor?"

"Why the hell would I come lay by your bed if I was dying? Don't you think I would try to get you to help me or something?"

"It's 3:00 in the morning Nate."

"I was scared." Nathan said, sitting up.

"Of what?"

"Myself."

"Really? What's going on?" Lucas asked, moving down on the floor next to his brother.

"I know you said you forgive me, and Brooke forgives me, but I can't help but feel like I'm the shittiest person alive."

"Nate, you're not that person anymore. We all make mistakes."

"You said yourself it's hard to forgive yourself. How can I forgive myself for the tape if you haven't forgiven yourself for cheating on Brooke last year?"

"Yeah. To be honest I was thinking about that myself earlier."

"I don't want people looking at me like they did yesterday."

"You mean Haley?"

"I mean everyone. Back then I didn't really give a damn about what people thought. Now I care. Maybe too much."

"There's nothing wrong with caring. But you should be proud of yourself. You've worked hard to get to where you are."

"Thanks Luke."

"Hey Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we make our own pact about college?"

"As in decide to go to the same school?"

"Let's at least try to pick a school where we can live together, even if it's not the same school."

"You want to live together after we graduate?"

"Only if you want to."

"Hell yeah I want to. What about the parents though?"

"I don't think it would be so unbelievable that we end up together, even if we were deciding on our own."

"True."

"I just keeping thinking that we need to take this chance while we have it."

"Yeah soon enough you and Brooke will be married or something and your house will be filled with clothes and there would be no room for me anyway." Nathan laughed.

"Exactly." Lucas laughed too.

"I'm really glad we're doing this."

"Me too. Soon enough our short second childhood will be over."

"It would be a shame if we didn't make the most of it."

* * *

Monday morning, Lucas and Nathan headed for homeroom bracing themselves for the comments from their classmates.

"Hey Scott, I guess brothers do share everything." Someone yelled out in the hall.

"Yo Lucas, time to make a sex tape with Haley or Theresa if you really want to get even!" Another kid called out.

Nathan put his hand on Lucas's arm as a silent warning to keep his cool.

"This day is going to suck." Brooke rolled her eyes.

Lucas covered Nathan's eyes and kissed Brooke passionately.

"Much better." Brooke smiled.

"That'll show them." Lucas laughed.

"Gross." Nathan grumbled.

"Hi." Peyton said quietly, approaching with Jake.

"Hey." Brooke mumbled.

"We'll leave you two to talk." Jake said pointedly.

"See you at lunch." Lucas said, kissing Brooke.

Once it was just the two of them, Peyton closed her eyes and sighed.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry."

"Me too Peyton. Even if I was drunk off my ass, which I definitely was, I should have taken myself home way before I got myself into trouble. Again."

"You were right. I know you weren't doing anything to hurt me. That whole thing with me and Lucas, I still feel horrible about it. Selfishly I just thought maybe this would even the score. But I realize it's not even in the same universe. Nathan and I definitely did not have the relationship you and Lucas have."

"It's okay."

"I love you Brooke Davis."

"I love you Peyton Sawyer. My BFF."

"You caught that, huh?"

"Just because you and Jagielski are blowing me off for California in a few months doesn't mean you aren't still my number one ho."

"Good to know."

"Haley's a good friend to have though."

"I know, I know. Things have been weird between us and I was just worried about losing you. Especially since I've been a crappy friend in the past."

"We've been through so much together and you've had my back. You can't get rid of me now." Brooke said, linking her arm in Peyton's as the bell rang.

* * *

"Is it safe?" Jake asked as he approached the lunch table.

"Yes." Brooke and Peyton said in unison.

"Thank God." Jake said, sitting down.

"Hilarious. Hey, did you make a set list for next weekend?" Peyton asked.

"The thing at Tric is going to be next weekend?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah I got ahold of Karen yesterday. I had to do something besides being pissed off."

"She says she's looking forward to it." Lucas said.

"Me too. I'm working on getting some more acts to join in."

"I wish I was doing something cool like that. It's not like my designs are going anywhere." Brooke sighed.

"Hey. Why don't we show your clothes at Tric?" Peyton suggested.

"That's a great idea." Lucas agreed.

"Really?" Brooke asked, smiling wide.

"Yes. And I'll even offer myself up as your assistant to help you get ready." Peyton said.

"You're in for it now." Jake muttered.

"Shut up Jagielski. I love this idea. I have a ton of stuff I've wanted to put together." Brooke said excitedly.

"It's going to be great." Lucas smiled.

Just then the bell rang.

"See you all at practice." Nathan said, getting up.

"Yes you will." Lucas grinned.

"Oh jeez. Your first official week as assistant coach." Nathan rolled his eyes.

"You ready for this?"

"On a scale of one to Dad, how bad is this going to be?"

Lucas cracked up.

"I'll go easy on you, little brother."

* * *

"So Lucas I hear Brooke is showing her designs at Tric next weekend?" Andy asked at dinner later that night.

"Yeah, Haley is going to wear one of her designs while she's playing and the Brooke is working with Jake to design an event t-shirt that they're going to sell at the show."

"That's great." Andy said.

"I think she's really excited."

"Listen, I can see if I can get some people I know to come to the show." Andy suggested.

"What kind of people?" Lucas asked.

"I have some connections to people who work in retail. Maybe they'll like what they see."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. Anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks Andy."

* * *

"Hey Karen." Dan said, sitting down at the counter at the café the next day.

"Hi Dan. What brings you here?"

"I had a favor to ask."

"Shoot."

"Deb and I want to go on a weekend trip to visit my parents. We would leave Thursday night and get back Saturday afternoon."

"Right, she told me."

"I know it's your week with Lucas, and I was wondering if Nathan could stay with you too on Thursday and Friday."

"Of course. I bet Lucas would love that."

"Thanks Karen. It's just that it seems like every time Deb and I try to go on a weekend trip, something happens. Maybe if you have the boys it will be okay."

"I don't believe in superstition but I'm happy to help." Karen laughed.

"Great, Deb will be thrilled."

"How are your parents by the way? Lucas told me they visited this summer?"

"They're great. They adore Lucas."

"I'm glad." Karen smiled.

"I think they're coming back here at the end of the month. Around Lucas's birthday. I'm sure they would love to see you."

"I would love to see them too."

"We'll see what we can do."

* * *

"Wait, Thing, Thing One and Thing Three?" Andy asked, laughing after dinner.

Karen was in the kitchen cleaning up, so Lucas and Nathan started telling Andy stories about getting to know each other.

"Well, he was the third." Nathan and Lucas said in unison.

"Unbelievable."

"Yeah we had some crazy nights last year." Nathan said.

"But you guys didn't even like each other back then right?"

"We hated each other." Lucas said.

"So what changed?"

"We actually got to know each other as people."

"You guys are lucky to have a second chance like this."

"We know." Nathan nodded.

* * *

"So what was Luke like as a kid?" Nathan asked Karen later that night.

"Oh, well, I might be biased but I think he was the greatest kid."

"She's biased." Lucas said, not looking up from his book.

"He always had his nose in a book once he learned to read."

"Nothing's changed there." Nathan laughed.

"Hey, I talk to people." Lucas protested.

"Andy and I watched an entire movie and you did not look up once. A couple of months ago I accidentally nailed Tim in the face with a basketball at practice and you did not look up once from whatever you were reading."

"Oh. Hmm." Lucas said distractedly.

"It keeps him out of trouble." Karen pointed out.

"That's true."

"He was super cuddly. He liked to give hugs and he would fall asleep on anyone." Karen said, smiling at her son.

"That one I've noticed. He uses my shoulder as a pillow all the time, mainly because he never makes it through a movie."

"When you insist on starting movies at 1:00 in the morning, of course I'm going to fall asleep."

"Total homebody." Nathan said, smiling at Karen.

"Yeah he and Haley mainly kept to themselves and made their own entertainment at home." Karen agreed.

"He said something about Scrabble tournaments?"

"Oh yes. They would get intense. He also was quite the football player. He and Keith would spend hours outside." Karen said, returning Nathan's smile.

Lucas put down his book and smiled at his brother and his mom. Karen and Nathan hadn't always gotten a chance to talk and understand each other, and he was glad to see his mom and brother getting along.

* * *

"Nathan you came!" Haley grinned as she walked into Tric. It was finally the night of the show.

"Yeah I didn't think I could miss it. You ready?"

"I am. I think it will be a great show."

"Is Eric coming?"

"He will be here in a little bit. You're rather early."

"Luke and I are helping Karen and Peyton get everything ready. Sounds like they're expecting a good crowd here tonight. Andy has some fashion connections or something so Brooke's freaking out."

"Andy knows people in fashion?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Apparently. He always seems to know somebody."

"That's true. Well, I'm glad you came. I know it might be weird."

"I'm fine. Really. So are you still considering doing this full-time once we graduate?"

"Actually, I've been wanting to tell you this. I'm going to Stanford."

"Wow Haley. That's amazing. Congratulations." Nathan said, hugging her.

"Thank you. It's been my dream, well my other dream, forever. Maybe I'll do some open mic nights there, see what happens."

"Definitely. So another one of us is off to California."

"Looks like it."

"What does Eric think? Is he going to school out there too?"

"I actually haven't told him about it yet."

"Oh."

"It's no big deal; I just wanted to make sure it was final before saying anything."

"Sounds like you've made your decision."

"Yeah. Maybe tonight will be a good night to tell him." Haley said half-heartedly.

"Maybe. I'll let you get ready. I know it will be great."

"Thanks Nate. It means a lot to me that you're here."

* * *

"Okay everyone, thanks for coming out tonight. My name is Peyton and I'll be your host for the show. Let's get it started with the sexiest guitar player I know, Mr. Jake Jagielski!" Peyton grinned.

Jake wandered out on stage and smiled without really looking at the crowd.

"Thanks Peyton. Hey everyone. "Jake said shyly.

He pulled out his guitar, took a deep breath, and started to play.

"He's great." Brooke said quietly.

"That sounded dangerously like a compliment Brooke." Lucas teased.

"Oh Broody, you know I'm nice to everyone."

"Of course. My bad." Lucas said, putting his arms around her and holding her close, swaying to the music.

Jake finished the song to thunderous applause. He smiled again and briefly pointed at Lucas before looking back at the crowd.

"Why did he point at you?" Nathan asked Lucas.

"Maybe that's their love song." Tim said.

"Don't worry Tim I'm sure the next one is for you." Nathan said, rolling his eyes.

Once Jake had finished his set, Peyton came back out wearing a Clothes Over Bros hoodie.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Clothes Over Bros." Peyton said simply, unzipping her hoodie and she headed backstage.

The lights dimmed and a remix started to play as only the stage was lit up.

Brooke, Theresa, Peyton, and some other cheerleaders came out wearing various pieces of Brooke's clothing line.

And not much else.

Some of the girls were wearing Clothes Over Bros tops with boy shorts and others were wearing cropped tops and shorts with the logo across the back.

"Oh my." Jake said evenly, raising his eyebrows.

"My mom is going to freak." Lucas said almost inaudibly.

Nathan and Tim cheered. Lucas smacked his brother on the arm.

"Sorry Luke. I thought you'd like this sort of thing."

Lucas didn't respond, he was searching the crowd for his mom and Andy. He caught his mother's eye.

She did not look happy.

"Oh Brooke, what did you do?" Lucas wondered out loud.

* * *

After the crowd died down from the unexpected display, Haley made her way onstage.

"Well that was interesting." Haley laughed as she sat down at the piano.

She started to play, and Nathan couldn't help but be entranced by her music once again.

Whether he realized it or not, the feeling was mutual. Haley searched the crowd for Eric and found his smiling face, but she couldn't help but watch Nathan most of the time.

"Is this weird for you?" Jake asked Nathan.

"Nah it's okay. I didn't see Chris Keller in the audience so that makes it a thousand times better." Nathan replied, not taking his eyes off of Haley.

"That's true. So you don't think he's going to pop up and make a pass at me, then try to take me out on tour?" Jake joked.

"Hope springs eternal, Jagielski." Nathan laughed.

"Bring back the scantily clad cheerleaders." Tim sighed, approaching Nathan and Jake.

"I think Karen will make Brooke and the others wear floor length long-sleeved dresses here from now on." Nathan said.

"She's mad? But it was awesome."

"They're teenage girls, Tim. Of course Lucas's mom is not going to be a fan of that. Plus Andy brought people to see Brooke's line and now they're probably thinking she's not serious." Nate said.

"I loved it." Tim said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Of course you did. It's probably the closest you've come to a naked girl in real life." Peyton said as she walked by.

"I love that girl." Jake said fondly, turning back to the stage.

* * *

"Hey." Nathan said, approaching Haley backstage once the show was all over.

"Hey you."

"You were amazing. As usual."

"Thanks Nate. Brooke's show was a hard act to follow."

"Yeah I'm hiding back here in case Karen finds Brooke."

"She must be pissed. Is Lucas mad?"

"He's probably not generally opposed to seeing his girlfriend in that type of outfit, but when his mom and stepfather are around with potential business contacts, it's a different story."

"Makes sense."

"I guess I should go find Luke though. It was really amazing to see you play again. I've missed it."

"Me too."

"I've missed you too."

"I've missed you too Nate. I always feel like I play better when you're around."

Nathan was silent for a moment, debating whether or not he should say what was on his mind.

"Screw it. Haley, there's something I need to say."

"What?"

"I love you. I realized when you got so mad at me that I've never fully stopped loving you. When that tape got played and I saw how hurt you were, I remembered how much you inspired me to be better as a person."

"Nathan—"

Haley was interrupted by Nathan leaning in to kiss her. He was surprised to receive a slap in the face instead.

"I'm so sorry!" Haley gasped.

"Whoa." Nathan said quietly, touching his cheek.

"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to. It's just that…I'm still with Eric."

"So what does this mean?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry Nathan." Haley said, rushing off.

* * *

"Lucas, I wasn't thinking about the fact your mom was here." Brooke protested.

"Who do you think Andy brought with him, Victoria's Secret? This reflects badly on my mom!" Lucas said, exasperated.

"Hello Brooke, Lucas." Karen said quietly, approaching where they were sitting.

"Karen, I am so sorry. It wasn't my intention to make you look bad. I was just trying to do something memorable."

"Lucky for you, it was memorable." Andy said.

"What?" Brooke and Lucas gasped.

"They loved your clothes _and _presentation, Brooke."

"Wait, really? Who exactly were these people?" Brooke asked.

"One of them represents Victoria's Secret."

"So I was right." Lucas laughed, despite his frustration. Karen glared at him.

"They want to talk to you some more. They had to go for tonight, but they promised to call me at the beginning of the week." Andy said.

"Oh my God!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I'm excited for you Brooke." Lucas said, squeezing her hand and looking at his mom.

"If you still lived with me, you would be grounded." Karen said firmly.

"I'm sorry Karen. I promise that if I'm ever allowed to show my designs here again, it will be nothing but ball gowns." Brooke said quietly.

"Promise?"

"I promise. I appreciate everything you've done for me. Both of you." Brooke said, looking at Andy.

"Well your clothes, what little of them there was, looked great." Karen admitted.

"Thank you Karen."

Karen smiled and got up to help Peyton take down everything from the show.

"I'm really glad my mom met you." Lucas said to Andy.

"Why, because of my connections to Victoria's Secret?" Andy joked.

"Among other things." Lucas smiled.

* * *

"Hey." Nathan said, sitting down next to Theresa. She was sitting by herself, looking like she wasn't sure if she should stay or leave.

"Hey." Theresa replied, not really looking at him.

"How are you? I hope nobody's given you crap about...you know."

"I'm okay. Luckily people seem to feel sorry for me instead of wanting to make fun of me for that tape."

"I'm really sorry about that Theresa. I'm also sorry I didn't apologize earlier."

"Haley was more important I guess."

"Well I definitely needed to apologize to Brooke first, but I just saw Haley's face and felt horrible."

"I felt horrible too, you know."

"Of course. I'm sorry. For everything."

"Was it all just pretend with us?"

"No, it really wasn't. I had a great time dating you, Theresa. Also, you were there for me for so much in the past few months. It's not just anyone who would take on dating a wreck like me. If nothing else, I feel like I've made a great friend. Is that horrible for me to say?"

"No." Theresa admitted.

"You really were great. I wouldn't have gotten through the past few months without you." Nathan insisted.

"Just bad timing I guess." Theresa said, smiling weakly.

"Definitely bad timing. But hey, please don't stop coming to these things. I like hanging out with you."

"I'm just waiting to see if my new friendship with Brooke will last."

"It should."

"Thanks for the talk Nathan."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"So what happens now with you and Haley?"

"Nothing really. She's still with Eric."

"You still love her though?"

"In one way or another, I always have. But I really liked you at well. It was confusing."

"I don't know how I feel about that."

"I don't know. If it makes you feel better, I turned her down because I wanted to date you."

Theresa laughed.

"Was that stupid of me to say?" Nathan asked, laughing nervously.

"Probably. At least it was honest."

"I'm trying."

"I know. I appreciate it."

"Theresa! Want to come back to Peyton's? Girls sleepover." Brooke called.

"See?" Nathan said quietly, smiling.

"Of course. Be right there." Theresa called back, smiling back at Nathan.

"Have fun." Nathan said.

"Thanks Nate."

* * *

"I'm exhausted." Lucas said later that night as he and Nathan made their way upstairs.

"Did you mom and Brooke have it out?"

"It's okay. Andy's people actually liked it all. Brooke's incredibly lucky."

"See? I told you it was good."

"Don't pretend you thought that was artsy, pervert." Lucas laughed.

"Whatever man. I'm glad it worked out."

"All in all, not a bad night."

"No appearances by Chris Keller."

"Always a plus."

"Hey Luke, I have something to show you."

"Please tell me it's not a video." Lucas joked weakly.

"Very funny. No it's something I got today. Wait here." Nathan said, running to his room.

He emerged a moment later, a thick envelope in his hands.

"What's this?"

"My letter from Duke. I'm in." Nathan grinned.

Lucas didn't say anything, he stared for a moment and went into his room.

"Luke? What's wrong?" Nathan followed him, worried.

Lucas turned around from his desk and held up an identical envelope.

"My mom told me it came in the mail today."

"Seriously?" Nathan said, smiling wide.

"For real, little brother."

"Is this it then?"

"It just might be." Lucas smiled.

"This is great. Seriously."

"Definitely. For now, I need to sleep. I'll see you in the morning?" Lucas asked.

"You got it. Goodnight."

"I'm proud of you Nate."

"Thanks Luke."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Luke. I'm glad you're my coach. And my brother."

"Me too, little brother."

* * *

Nathan and Lucas got up around the same time the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast. They hadn't seen Deb or Dan since they left for their trip.

"Hey Dad. Welcome back." Lucas said, pouring himself some coffee.

"Morning." Dan said distractedly.

"Something wrong?" Nathan asked, sitting down at the table next to Lucas.

Deb came in looking like she hadn't slept.

"Hi boys." Deb said tiredly.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked.

Dan sighed and looked at Deb, who didn't quite meet his gaze.

"We have something to discuss with you." Dan said quietly.

* * *

**Oh snap. **

**Leave a review if you wish. Thanks for reading! **


	58. Chapter 58

**Hi all! Thanks for reading/reviewing. **

* * *

Nathan sighed, feeling a sense of dread building up inside him. Lucas glanced at him quickly before turning back to Deb and Dan.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked nervously.

"Boys, just know we love you both very much before we tell you this." Dan said solemnly.

Lucas and Nathan looked at each other, unsure of where this was going.

"We love you too." Lucas said, looking back and forth between Deb and Dan.

Deb was trying not to cry. She and Dan were standing as far apart from each other as possible without being in different rooms.

"What's going on? You're scaring me." Nathan said.

"Well, you know we went on our trip, and we got back late last night."

"Yeah…" Nathan said slowly.

"I told your father something last night. Something I need to tell you both now." Deb said.

"What happened?"

"Oh boys, I'm so sorry."

"Mom, please just say it." Nathan said, getting anxious.

"Nate." Lucas scolded gently.

"Sorry." Nathan mumbled.

"This is really hard for me to say. But the night of the fire, it was me who drugged your father."

Nobody said anything for a moment. Nathan scooted away from his mother and closer to Lucas, who put his hand on Nathan's shoulder.

"You tried to kill Dad?" Nathan asked, his voice barely audible.

"No. I swear that's not it at all. I wasn't there to kill him. I was just trying to find something to use against him. I knew he had a liquor supply in his office, so I figured if he was out of it, I would have plenty of time to search. Boys, I promise you that I did not set that fire." Deb said.

"You were the one who told us what happened. I knew you seemed weird about it." Nathan said angrily.

"I'm so sorry Nathan. That night was a really low point for me." Deb said quickly, grabbing her son's hands.

"What happens now?" Nathan asked, pulling away from Deb and looking at Dan.

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but Deb cut him off.

"I'm going to move out for a little while."

Lucas sighed and stared at the floor. As upset as he was, he knew Nathan's heart was breaking right then and there.

"I don't want you to go." Nathan said quietly.

"It's what's best for now." Deb said, reaching out to Nathan again.

Once again, he pulled away. Nathan looked at his father, who was staring intently at the floor.

"What's best for us is to be a family. I thought that's what we were doing. Isn't that what you promised me and Luke? We're supposed to be moving forward." Nathan said, trying to keep calm.

Lucas looked at his brother, and then his eyes went to his father. How could he fix this?

"Dad she didn't set the fire." Lucas said firmly.

"I know, Luke. We've been talking about this for hours." Dan replied, not meeting his son's gaze.

"Nathan, honey, I'll be here for the championship game. I promise. I'll still be there for you when you need me." Deb said quickly.

"How long will you be gone?" Nathan said, ignoring her last statement.

"I don't know."

"Please don't get a divorce." Nathan pleaded.

"Oh honey. I'm so sorry." Deb said, starting to cry.

"Please stay." Nathan begged.

"I have to go. I'm sorry. I already packed a bag. I'll call you." Deb said, hugging Nathan, who remained stiff in her arms.

Deb looked at Lucas and hugged him too.

"I'm sorry." Deb whispered, hurrying out of the room.

"Can't you do something?" Nathan asked Dan.

"I'm not sure I want to." Dan said, still staring at the floor.

"Dad, please." Lucas said, standing up.

"I've got to go do some work. We'll talk more later. I promise. I'm sorry." Dan said, walking past his sons out of the room.

Nathan buried his head in his arms and started sobbing.

"Nate…" Lucas said quietly, not keeping his composure too well either.

"I knew it was all too good to be true." Nathan said.

"Oh Nate, who knows how long this will last? Dad's probably still in shock."

"So he just gives up? They both just give up? They're getting a divorce. That's it. This family is broken, again." Nathan said, lifting his head.

"We don't know that." Lucas said quietly, sitting back down and putting his hand on Nathan's arm.

"That's exactly what's going to happen."

"Nate, I really hope not. But no matter what happens, I'm still here for you. Okay?"

"Okay." Nathan said, burying his head into Lucas's shoulder.

"We have to trust them, Nate."

Nathan didn't respond, he just started sobbing again. Lucas finally broke down and let the tears fall too.

"I'm sorry Nate. I'm so sorry." Lucas whispered.

"Why can't we catch a break, Luke?" Nathan asked, lifting his head.

"I don't know, Nate."

"I really thought things had changed."

"They did, Nate. Your mom made a mistake. But she didn't try to kill Dad. She just wanted revenge. How can we blame her for that? We were thinking the same thing."

"But we didn't do anything. All this time she was acting like things were going to change but she was keeping this huge secret. How can I forgive her for that? How can Dad?"

Lucas sighed, feeling anxiety build up into his chest. He took a deep breath and tried to stay strong.

"It will get better. It has to." Lucas said, trying to sound like he believed it.

"Oh what do you know?" Nathan snapped.

"What?" Lucas swallowed hard, taken aback.

"You get to leave. At the end of the week you get to go back to your _mansion _with two parents and none of this insanity. You get to leave and I'm here alone. I have to live this hell every single day."

"Nate, I'm not going to leave you alone."

"Forget it. I wouldn't blame you if you left as soon as possible." Nathan said, getting up.

"Nate. I won't leave you." Lucas said, getting up and grabbing Nathan's wrist.

"I'm going upstairs." Nathan said, pulling away from Lucas.

* * *

Lucas walked up to Haley's apartment and knocked.

"Luke. What's up?" Haley said, opening the door.

"I need to talk to you."

"What's wrong? You look like hell."

"Deb drugged Dan the night of the fire."

"How do you know?"

"She told him while they were away, and they told me and Nate this morning."

"She tried to kill him?"

"No. She swears that she didn't set the fire. She was there earlier trying to find some incriminating evidence against him and she drugged his drink so she could look around."

"Do you believe her?"

"I do." Lucas said quickly.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I could just tell."

"Luke, why do I feel like you're not telling me something?" Haley asked, studying her best friend's face.

"Hales, if I tell you something do you promise to keep it a secret?"

"Of course."

"You are the absolute only person I've told. Not Nathan, not Brooke, not anyone."

"Oh my God, Luke…did you do it?"

"Set the fire? No. I swear. Haley, I'm the one who pulled my dad out of the fire." Lucas said.

"What?" Haley gasped.

"I had the same idea as Deb that night. I wanted so bad to find something to use against him. When I got there the dealership was in flames, and I just ran to drag him out of the fire."

"Why did you save him? I mean I know you guys are great now, but back then…"

"Honestly, I wondered that too. But clearly I was meant to save him. I've been keeping it a secret for so long just because I didn't want to ruin anything. Too late now I guess."

"You could've been killed, Luke."

"I'm okay."

"Did you get hurt?"

Lucas lifted up his shirt and pointed to a mark on his side.

"With all of the hospital visits, I've had this year I figured this mark would go unnoticed." Lucas said.

"Oh my God, Lucas. Did you get this treated?"

"No, it wasn't bad. I was insanely lucky. It seems like my luck ran out after that."

"I disagree, you're lucky to be here."

"You're right, Hales."

"So what are you going to do? How's Nathan?"

"He's pretty inconsolable right now. I tried to tell him I wouldn't leave him alone in that house but he didn't believe me."

"What happens when you go back to your mom and Andy?"

"I'll ask her if I can stay. Or maybe I bring Nathan with me."

"But then your dad is alone."

"I know. I don't know what to do. Deb just left and Nathan begged her not to go."

"How awful."

"He's really hurting. I don't know what to do for him. Why did this have to happen now? He's been really happy with basketball, and we just got over the sex tape thing."

"Yeah. Speaking of bad timing, he tried to kiss me last night."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. He told me he loved me."

"You said he tried to kiss you?"

"I slapped him."

"Damn, Haley."

"I'm not going to cheat on Eric, Lucas."

"Yeah."

"He understood."

"Well that's nice of him." Lucas laughed.

"I think to be fair, I have to end things with Eric though."

"Do you still love Nate?"

"Of course. I always have. Not that I didn't like Eric, but if I could be with anyone in the world it would be Nathan every time."

"I know he feels the same way."

"I was worried about Theresa though."

"Don't be. He really liked her, and she was a really great girlfriend, but I think that somewhere in the back of his mind he always knew it was you. He said they had a good talk last night."

"I'm glad. I hate hurting people."

"I know, Haley."

"But I guess I'll have to do that. I should probably go talk to Eric."

"Hey Hales, even if you end it with Eric, maybe give Nathan some time to process everything."

"That's a good idea."

"Thanks for being my best friend."

"Always, Luke. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

* * *

Nathan sat, leaning his head against Dan's liquor cabinet. He heard his father leave not long after their talk, and Lucas left pretty soon after.

"So much for not leaving me alone." Nathan said out loud to no one.

Lucas opened the front door and dropped his keys on the counter. He spotted Nathan and came over to sit with him.

"Nate, what are you doing?"

"Contemplating getting so drunk that I can't remember any of this." Nathan said dully.

"Nate." Lucas sighed.

"You can join me if you want."

"Nathan, I know you're hurting."

"Why can't we ever be happy, Luke? Is this what's it's going to be like forever? Something good happens and then the next day it all comes crashing down?"

"No, I promise."

"I can't wait to get out of here. I can't wait for college. Just you and me. Maybe you're all the family I need."

"I'll always be there for you, but you need your parents too."

"They aren't even trying to stay together for me. For us."

"Nate, it's only been a day. Give them time."

"Why did she leave? Why won't she fight for our family?"

"I guess if I were her, I would be feeling guilty, and I would be afraid of everyone's reaction."

"Drugging your husband is a pretty big hurdle for a marriage I suppose."

"You want to know what I think?"

"Sure."

"If we can survive the first eighteen years of our lives, this one especially, we can make it through anything. That includes our parents."

"You really believe that?"

"Where would we be if we didn't believe in forgiveness and moving on?"

"You're right, Luke. Do you think Dad will come around?"

"I hope so, Nate."

"It would be pretty hypocritical if he didn't." Nathan pointed out.

"We just need to give them time. Our relationship didn't change overnight."

"True. I just wish we could go back to yesterday when everything was okay."

"We have so much to look forward to."

"I don't know if I can feel that way anymore."

* * *

"Hey Nate." Jake said, walking up to Nathan at practice the next day.

"Hey." Nathan said, staring at his shoes.

"Are you and Luke okay?" Jake asked.

Nathan followed Jake's gaze over to Lucas who was staring off into space. Whitey walked over and snapped his fingers in Lucas's face to get his attention.

"No." Nathan said after a moment.

"Did you have a fight? You guys have barely said anything all day."

"No. Well sort of but that's not what's wrong."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I don't really want to talk about it. Don't bother asking Luke either." Nathan said, walking away.

Jake glanced at Peyton across the gym and shook his head.

"What's wrong with Lucas? Did he tell you?" Peyton asked Brooke.

"No not really. All he told me was that Deb and Dan are going through something. Deb is staying somewhere else for awhile. He was really not in the mood to talk about it though."

"I wonder what happened."

"Me too." Brooke said quietly.

Whitey had the team in a circle, talking strategy for the upcoming game. Nathan had his hand on Lucas's back while Whitey was talking. Once Whitey was done, Lucas clapped his brother on the shoulder and went to start the team on a new play. He blew his whistle and glanced across the gym.

Brooke caught Lucas's eye and smiled weakly.

"I love you." Lucas mouthed.

"I love you." Brooke mouthed back before going to join the rest of the squad.

* * *

Nathan was heading to his car when Haley walked up to him.

"Hey." Haley said quietly.

"What's up?" Nathan mumbled. He opened his trunk and started to put his stuff inside.

"I just wanted to let you know that Eric and I broke up."

"Oh."

"It just wasn't right."

"I guess not. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"How are you doing?"

"Did Luke tell you what's going on?"

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Nathan."

"Thanks Haley. If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it though."

"That's okay. Just know that I'm here for you."

"Thanks. That means a lot to me. You were always there when my parents were being insane." Nathan smiled.

"Yeah." Haley laughed.

"I guess I should get going."

"Nathan wait." Haley said quickly.

"What?"

"I'm not supposed to do this. Forget it." Haley said, remembering what Lucas said.

"Haley, you're confusing me."

"I love you."

Nathan stared at her for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Nathan said, leaning in to kiss her. He felt a little bit of hope rise inside of him.

They kissed for a few seconds, but Nathan ended up pulling away quickly.

"Sorry." Nathan mumbled.

"For kissing me?"

"No. I'm glad I did that. Especially since you didn't slap me this time." Nathan said, laughing weakly.

Haley faked a smile but didn't fool Nathan.

"I was kidding, Haley. I understand why you slapped me."

"It felt weird didn't it?" Haley admitted.

"Yeah." Nathan sighed.

"I've imagined this before—"

"Sorry, but I've got to go." Nathan interrupted, slamming his trunk shut.

"Nathan, please wait."

"Sorry. I just can't talk about this now." Nathan said quickly, seeing Lucas approaching.

Haley glanced at Lucas, who looked at her questioningly.

"I understand. I'll see you later." Haley said, picking up her bag.

"Hey Haley." Lucas said, opening the passenger door and putting his stuff in the car.

"Hey Lucas. I'll call you later?"

"Sure." Lucas nodded.

"Great. Bye." Haley said, rushing off.

"What was that?" Lucas said, getting into the car.

"I don't know." Nathan mumbled, starting the ignition.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter coming soon. **


	59. Chapter 59

Nathan couldn't sleep. Again.

He was up watching another movie on some random channel, trying to distract himself.

Lucas knocking on the door broke him from his trance.

"You're still up?" Lucas asked softly.

"I haven't really slept much lately."

"You need to sleep Nate."

"How am I supposed to, with everything that's going on?"

"I still believe that your mom is coming home."

"I'm not so sure Luke."

"I hate seeing you like this."

"I hate feeling like this. How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing okay. I have to talk to Brooke about it tomorrow. She just knows the basics."

"You're lucky to have her to talk to about this."

"You have people to talk to, Nate. Did you forget that Haley is in love with you?"

"How am I supposed to talk to her about this?"

"She was your go-to person before. And speaking as her best friend of several years, I can promise you that she's the best kind of person in these situations."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to let her in like that again."

"She would want to be there for you, that's all I'm saying."

"I guess so."

Lucas sighed, deciding to let the subject go for now.

"I'll think about it." Nathan said after a stretch of silence.

* * *

Dan walked around the streets of Tree Hill aimlessly, drinking coffee and staring at nothing.

"Danny." Whitey said, interrupting Dan's thoughts.

"Didn't see you there." Dan said simply.

"I need to talk to you."

"Shoot."

"Can you tell me why, whether they're fighting or clinging to each other, I always need a crowbar to keep your kids apart?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What's happening at home? Lucas and Nathan have barely said anything for days and they never seem to want to stray more than two feet from each other at practice, which is damn inconvenient for me since Lucas isn't able to play."

"Deb moved out."

"What did you do?"

"For once, it wasn't me. Deb told me that she's the one who drugged me the night of the fire. She didn't set the fire though. That part I believe."

"Want to know what I think?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You need to forgive Deb. If she's put up with your crap all of these years, you need to return the favor. I've never seen Nathan happier. Don't take that away from him. Or Lucas. Those boys deserve some stability in their lives, especially from you."

Dan didn't reply, he just sighed and drank more of his coffee.

"Doesn't this mean anything to you? What about your sons?"

"It means everything to me, Whitey. I'm just struggling to forgive such a huge secret."

"You need to man up and bring your family back together. I am damn close to being proud of you again, Danny. Don't screw this up for yourself, or your sons." Whitey said, shaking his head and walking away.

Dan stared after Whitey for a moment, then pulled out his cell phone.

"Hey little brother." Keith answered.

"Can you meet me to talk?"

* * *

"Hey baby." Lucas said, kissing Brooke in the parking lot.

"How are you, boyfriend?"

"Can I talk to you? I want to tell you what's going on."

"Of course. Here, let's sit in my car. Homeroom doesn't start for 15 minutes."

"So, the reason Deb left is that she drugged my dad."

"What?"

"The night of the fire, she drugged him. She left before the fire started. She was trying to find evidence against him."

"Oh my God. How are you guys doing?"

"It sucks. It really does. And I just feel completely at a loss because Nathan is completely devastated. When they told us Sunday morning he was so heartbroken."

"I can imagine."

"He's really hurting right now, and I want to be there for him as much as possible. I'm just worried that he won't let anyone else in."

"There's so many people who care about him though."

"I know. I just wish he could see that."

"He will."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Thank you for being the best girlfriend ever."

"My pleasure. Now would you like to hear a secret?"

"Sure."

"I hear that the captain of the cheerleaders is sleeping with the assistant coach."

"Really? Where did you hear a rumor like that?"

"Right here." Brooke whispered, pulling him into a kiss.

* * *

"I have to say, I'm surprised you wanted to meet me." Keith said to Dan.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Deb was the one who put drugs in my drink the night of the fire. She didn't set the fire, but she wanted to drug me so she could find evidence against me." Dan said quickly.

"Wow." Keith said quietly.

"As much as I'm struggling with this information, it has been helpful in a way."

"How so?"

"It serves as a reminder of what a horrendous human being I have been. Keith, I'm sorry about Jules. I'm sorry about everything. Truly."

"Danny, I'm not sure this is the right time for that. You're feeling emotional because of Deb—"

"This is genuine, Keith. Once I started working on my relationship with Lucas, it felt like a weight was lifted. There's no reason for me to hold onto hate, or anger, or resentment."

"Then why can't you forgive your wife?"

"You're right." Dan said simply.

"Listen, I need forgiveness as much as Deb does. So do you. Lucas says he's about putting the past behind him. How about we start again?"

"I'd like to start again, Keith."

"You and me, you and Deb. Deal?"

"Deal. Don't forget about your nephews."

"I have a lot to make up for."

"You just have to start somewhere. That's all I could do and it's been one of the best years of my life, even with all of the hard stuff that's happened."

"I hate that I wasn't here."

"I know. I understand."

"Do you really think Lucas doesn't need me?"

"What?"

"What you said at Karen's wedding."

"That was just anger talking Keith."

"Anger?"

"As happy as Lucas might be to have a relationship with me, that doesn't erase what you have been to him all of his life. He was hurt without you, Keith."

"I know. I'm ready to make things right with him."

"Good."

"Are you ready to make things right with your marriage?"

"I hope so."

* * *

"I finally told Brooke everything today." Lucas told Nathan.

Nathan was sitting on Lucas's floor watching TV while Lucas was writing in a notebook.

"I still haven't told Haley."

"What's happening with you two?"

"I don't know. I told her I loved her, she said she loved me, we kissed, it was awkward."

"Whoa, wait up. When did this happen?"

"The other day before you got to the car after practice. I've kind of been avoiding her since."

"Wow. Why was it awkward?"

"Probably because I'm a crazy mess and can never be happy."

"Nathan. You can be happy. Haley makes you happy. Especially in tough times like these. I really wish you would let her in."

"What, you don't think you're good enough to be my support system?"

Lucas laughed.

"I just want you to remember that you have a lot of people who care about you."

"I'm not used to talking to her about these things. At least not anymore."

"I know. But I really think you should try."

"Hey can I talk to you two?" Dan said, knocking softly on the door.

"Yeah. Come in." Lucas said, shutting his notebook.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't handle this well at all. We haven't even talked about it."

"We tried, Dad." Nathan said angrily.

"I know, Nate. I'm sorry. I wasn't ready for it then."

"What happens now?" Lucas asked.

"I've been thinking a lot about that. I don't want this family to break up. We have way too much to make up for to give up now."

"So Mom is coming home?" Nathan said, his tone softening.

"I hope so. I'm going to talk to her." Dan nodded.

"What changed your mind?" Lucas asked.

"I got some good advice." Dan replied.

"Bring her home, Dad." Nathan said quietly.

"Let's hope so." Dan said, patting Nathan on the shoulder and getting up to leave.

"Dad?" Lucas called after him.

"Yeah Luke?"

"Thanks for trying. I hope she comes home."

"Me too, son."

* * *

Nathan woke up earlier than usual the next morning. He could smell cinnamon buns, which was highly unusual in the Scott household.

"Luke." Nathan said quietly, going across the hall and opening Lucas's door.

"What?" Lucas mumbled.

"Wake up."

"No."

"Please wake up."

"Go away." Lucas said into his pillow.

"I think Dad bought us pity cinnamon buns."

"Oh."

"Want to go check?"

"Fine." Lucas sighed.

Nathan steered Lucas down the stairs.

"That was really disorienting." Lucas groaned.

"You might want to try opening your eyes."

Lucas stopped short, Nathan stopped too and let go of his brother.

"Hey there." Deb said cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan gasped, smiling wide and hugging his mom.

Dan sat at the counter, drinking his coffee and smiling.

"Welcome back." Lucas said happily.

"I'm happy to be back."

"How is it that you're back?" Nathan asked.

"I pulled myself together and called her. After thinking about it, how can I blame anyone for wanting to do that to me?" Dan said.

"I can never express how sorry I am. To anyone of you." Deb said, looking at Dan.

"This summer we promised to move forward, let's continue that. We all need to forgive each other and learn from our mistakes. Be a family." Dan said, smiling at his wife.

"We have a lot to look forward to." Deb agreed.

"There's so much we have in front of us as a family. The championship game tomorrow, your graduation…"

"This kid's birthday next week." Nathan grinned, putting his arm around Lucas.

"Definitely. Lucas, I have to tell you, Keith was a big part of helping me come around." Dan said.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Speaking of moving on, maybe you need to give him a chance."

"You're right." Lucas nodded.

"So, we should totally stay home from school and bond as a family right?" Nathan grinned.

"Nice try. Plenty of time for that later. Your mom and I need to work on us now."

"It was worth a shot." Nathan said to Lucas as they left to get ready for school.

* * *

"Did I detect a smile there Nathan?" Jake teased at lunch.

"Yeah. By the way I'm sorry for being such a jackass earlier this week. I know you were just looking out for us."

"No sweat man. I wouldn't be up for talking much either in that situation."

"Hey guys." Haley says tentatively.

"Hales! Come sit." Lucas grinned.

"You guys are looking happy today."

"Deb came home." Lucas said.

"Oh that's so great!" Haley smiled at Nathan, who smiled back at her, but quickly looked away.

"I'll be right back. I have to ask Whitey something." Lucas said, getting up.

"I'll come with you." Nathan said quickly, getting up too.

"Oh. Sure." Lucas said slowly.

"Nathan can we talk after practice?" Haley asked.

"Um. Maybe. I might have a lot of homework. Can I text you?"

"Sure." Haley said quietly.

"Why don't you go back and sit? This might take a few minutes." Lucas asked as he and Nathan headed down to Whitey's office.

"I'll hang out with you. It's fine."

"I think Haley wanted you to stay."

"We'll talk after school. Like I said."

"You basically blew her off for that."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I don't know. I'll figure it out."

"Okay." Lucas sighed.

"I want to be with her Luke."

"I know Nate. Right now the only thing stopping that is you."

Nathan stopped short.

"What?" Lucas asked, turning around.

"You're right."

"Of course I am."

"I'll catch you later."

"Go get her." Lucas grinned.

* * *

**Boom! **

**Leave me a review if you'd like. Thanks for reading! **


	60. Chapter 60

"Hey Karen, hey Andy." Nathan said, coming into the café.

"Nathan, how are you?" Andy asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I'm good. I wanted to ask you guys something."

"Go for it."

"Well you know that we have spring break next week."

"Right." Karen nodded.

"And Luke's birthday is that week."

"I am aware." Karen smiled.

"I was wondering what you guys had planned. I wanted to do something special for him but I didn't want to interfere with anything you guys already had in the works."

"We had nothing in mind quite yet." Karen said, glancing at Andy.

"Unfortunately I will be on a business trip most of that week so we might have to hold off on plans of our own. What were you thinking of doing?" Andy said.

"I hadn't gotten that far." Nathan admitted.

"It's sweet you want to do something for him." Karen said.

"When I was growing up, my friends and I would kidnap each other on our birthdays and go surfing or ride dirt bikes, something like that. We wouldn't tell them where we were going or what we were doing. It was always a blast though." Andy smiled, reminiscing.

"That's really cool actually." Nathan said.

"I think Lucas would love that." Karen agreed.

"This could be great."

"Listen, pick an activity and a location and let me know. I'll make arrangements." Andy said.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked.

"Absolutely. I'm sure it will be a great time."

* * *

"Hey Luke can I talk to you?" Dan said, knocking on Lucas's door.

"Sure. What's up?"

Dan shut the door and sat down on his son's bed.

"I wanted to give you something. It's not exactly a birthday present, but I always thought one way or another I would give this to you once you turned eighteen."

Dan pulled out a small box and handed it to Lucas. Lucas opened the box and saw a diamond ring nestled inside.

"I don't understand." Lucas said, taking out the ring.

"It's an engagement ring. I got it for your mom. When we were younger. I actually bought this before graduation, before everything happened."

Lucas shut the box quickly, tears forming in his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't want this to upset you." Dan said quickly, putting his hand on Lucas's arm.

"How could it not? This is a reminder everything I missed out on." Lucas said quietly.

"I'm sorry Lucas. This wasn't supposed to be a bad thing. I was a different person when I bought that ring. My thought was something good could come from it after all these years."

"Why did you keep it?"

"I'm not really sure. But I wanted you to have it, even when we didn't have much of a relationship. I just didn't know how to give it to you."

"Why do you want me to have it?"

"I thought maybe you could give it to Brooke. Someday. If you want to. Your mom and I, we weren't meant for forever. But we were meant to have you. And I'm beyond grateful to finally celebrate that with you this year."

"Thanks Dad."

"If it upsets you, we don't have to keep it. You can sell it. Whatever you want. It belongs to you. I want you to have it, if only to remember that at one point your mother and I did love each other a lot, and we both love you now."

"I do want it. I want to give it to Brooke."

Dan said nothing for a moment.

"Someday." Lucas added.

"Yeah, I think I need at least one of my kids to get out of their teens before getting married."

"Even if I proposed in the next five minutes Brooke would still probably require a year or two of wedding planning."

"Yeah I can definitely see that being true. Just promise me you'll wait until you're absolutely ready to do anything."

"Deal. And thanks again, this actually is pretty awesome." Lucas said.

"Good. I'm sorry I didn't think about the implications before coming up here. I guess that was pretty stupid of me."

"It's okay. I get where you're coming from now."

"So, can I ask? Are you planning on asking Brooke to marry you at some point?"

"I'd like to. I'd actually like to go over and do it right now. But I also want to be practical about where we are in life and all that."

"I'm glad you found someone who loves you. Which she clearly does. I don't know what the right timing is for all this, but I want to support you in any way I can."

"Me too. It means a lot that you would support me."

"Of course. Just promise me you both have a high school diploma in your possession before you do anything."

"Deal."

"Maybe even a college one?"

"Maybe." Lucas laughed.

* * *

_Nathan slammed the ball into the basket and smiled at the cheers from the crowd._

_As he made his way down the court again, another player slammed into him and he crashed to the ground. His knee exploded with a sharp pain. _

_The crowd kept cheering. It was like nothing was wrong. Lucas was watching Jake pass the ball to Eric, who made a shot. _

"_Luke?" Nathan called out. _

_Lucas did not acknowledge him at all. _

_Nathan scanned the crowd and found Haley. She wasn't looking at him either. She was cheering on the team, oblivious to Nathan calling out to her. _

_He tried to stand up but his knee was in too much pain._

"_Haley!"_

_No response. The crowd was getting deafening._

_His teammates ran past him, ignoring him. _

_Finally a hand reached out to help Nathan up. It was the guy from Duke._

"_It's just not good enough. We were wrong."_

"_What?" Nathan gasped._

"_We changed our mind. We don't want you at Duke."_

"_Haley?" Nathan pleaded as she walked past him. _

_His knee gave out and he crashed to the ground before she could respond. _

_Nathan searched around for Lucas. He was walking straight past him, heading towards the rest of the team._

"Lucas!" Nathan yelled, jolting awake.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked breathlessly.

"Huh?" Nathan mumbled sleepily, trying to focus.

"I was asleep. You screamed out my name. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry. Bad dream."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. That's okay."

"Okay. Try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"Right."

* * *

It was finally the night of the championship game. Nathan was pacing around the locker room, trying to calm his nerves.

"Isn't it a little warm for a jacket?" Lucas asked as he walked in.

"I'm good."

"How are you feeling? You look nervous."

"I just don't want to screw it up."

"Don't worry about it. Just kill it like you have been this whole season. Just remember that you're going to Duke, and your family and friends are either on the court with you or cheering out in the crowd for you. Including Haley."

"Including Haley." Nathan smiled a little bit.

"You never talked to her did you?"

"She was gone when I got back to the lunch table. I've been distracted ever since."

"Well, in my opinion, after you kick some ass at this game you should go and make things right with her."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Let's do this, bitches!" Tim yelled as he slammed his locker shut.

"Ready little brother?"

"Now I am. Let's do this."

"See you out there."

"This might be the night I've been dreaming about." Whitey said to Lucas as the game was about to start.

"You deserve it coach."

"You do too, Scott. I hate that you're not out there but I'm glad you decided to be a part of it this time."

"Thanks coach."

Lucas watched as the team walked out, one by one. Jake gave him a huge grin and slapped hands with him as he walked by.

"I'll be damned." Whitey said quietly.

"What?" Lucas asked, following his gaze.

Nathan walked out and tossed his jacket aside. He wasn't wearing his regular #23 jersey. He was wearing Lucas's jersey instead.

"Ladies and gentleman, it looks like Nathan is paying tribute to his older brother and assistant coach, Lucas Scott!" The announcer said.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked Nathan, unable to contain his smile.

"I wanted you to be out there with me." Nathan said, squeezing his brother's hand.

Up in the stands, Dan looked down for a moment. When he lifted his head, he was smiling and there were tears in his eyes.

"That's amazing." Karen said quietly, touched by Nathan's gesture.

Andy smiled and patted Dan on the arm. Dan returned his smile.

* * *

"Nathan Scott is tearing up this game!" The announcer said happily.

"Alright men, you guys are doing great. We only have a little time left. Let's not get cocky. Their offense is nothing to sneeze at. We don't want them to catch up."

"Let's crush them." Tim said.

"Do you remember the play Lucas showed you last week?" Whitey asked the team.

They all nodded.

"Let's do that. They won't know what hit them."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked.

"Of course. You've got a talent, Lucas. Don't doubt yourself." Whitey said firmly.

"Ravens on three!" Nathan yelled.

"One, two, three, RAVENS!" The team yelled.

Nathan flashed one last smile at his brother before getting back to the game.

This was nothing like his nightmares, he was going to make sure of that. This was everything he had been dreaming of.

Nathan found Haley's face in the crowd. She was sitting next to Karen.

How to make this unlike his nightmares? It was time to put it on the line. Be brave. Take a risk.

Nathan made sure she was looking right at him.

"I love you." Nathan mouthed to her, pointing on "you."

Haley smiled widely and mouthed it back to him.

* * *

Several minutes later, Nathan took a deep breath and shot a three-pointer into the basket. Two seconds later the buzzer sounded and noise erupted all around him.

He barely had time to process what was happening before his teammates ran up to him and lifted him onto their shoulders.

"We did it!" Jake yelled, unable to contain his excitement.

"Hell yes we did." Nathan said, giving Jake a high five.

Once he was back on the ground, he ran over to his brother, who was being congratulated with Whitey by a crowd of people.

He made his way over to Lucas, who ran over and hugged him.

"That was incredible Nate."

"Luke, everything I've done this season has been for you. I want you to know that."

"That means a lot to me."

"It's true."

"I'm so proud of you Nate."

"I'm proud of you too Luke."

"I guess my jersey is lucky, huh?" Lucas teased.

"Definitely." Nathan grinned.

"Out of my way, there's a man I need to kiss." Brooke said, playfully shoving Nathan aside and jumping into Lucas's arms.

"Hey Cheery."

"I'm so proud of you baby. Both of you." Brooke said, smiling at Nathan.

"Congratulations!" Haley said, running up and hugging Lucas.

"Thanks Hales."

"Congratulations Nathan." Haley said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was wearing the bracelet from the Cracker Jack box.

Nathan didn't say anything, he just grabbed her and kissed her as the crowd continued to cheer.

"Finally!" Brooke squealed.

Nathan and Haley broke apart, smiling.

"That day in the parking lot was…"

"Awkward." Haley finished for him.

"I can't think of a more perfect moment for us than this." Nathan said earnestly.

"I couldn't agree more." Haley said, kissing him again.

"Scott boys! Get your asses over here!" Whitey called.

"To be continued." Brooke said, blowing Lucas a kiss.

Nathan kissed Haley one more time before following his brother over to the team.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Lucas said, patting Nathan on the shoulder as they joined the rest of the team for a group picture.

Nathan and Lucas stood next to each other. Just as the picture was being taken, Nathan grabbed Lucas's hand.

"This is what I call the best week ever, big brother."

* * *

**NALEY!**

**Finally. **

**:-)**


	61. Chapter 61

**Hi all!**

**Glad you liked the Naley. Let's have some more, shall we? **

**Thanks for reading/reviewing!**

* * *

"There you are." Nathan said to Haley, who was standing by the school entrance.

"I figured you had to sign autographs or something." Haley said, smiling.

"No but there will be a meet and greet tomorrow at the mall if you want to try for one then."

"Shut up." Haley said, rolling her eyes.

"So, pretty good night?"

"I'll say so."

"Me too."

"Does this mean we're officially back together?"

"Wait, was kissing you in front of the whole school not official enough for you?"

"Nope."

"Okay then. Haley James, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes. Yes I will." Haley said, pulling him into another kiss.

"Avert your eyes!" Brooke teased, covering Lucas's eyes as they walked up.

"Oh please, there are days I forget what your faces look like when they're not attached to each other." Nathan laughed.

"My favorite kind of days." Lucas said.

"Point well taken. I just can't help it." Brooke said, smiling at her boyfriend.

"See you at the after party?" Nathan asked, looking at Lucas.

"You know it. What you did out there…that was amazingly cool of you. I couldn't ask for a better brother, seriously."

"It was my pleasure, man. Truly."

"See you soon." Brooke said, smiling at Haley and Nathan.

"Where were we?" Nathan asked, leading Haley out to his car.

"Right about here." Haley said, leaning against the car as Nathan kissed her once more.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm not playing basketball as a Raven anymore." Nathan said the next night at dinner.

"It will be an adjustment. But in a good way." Lucas said, patting his brother's shoulder.

"I hope so."

"It will be. Trust me, little brother."

"Yeah. Thanks for taking us out to dinner Dad." Nathan said.

"My pleasure. Of course I wanted to celebrate your championship, but I have to admit I had another reason for bringing the family out tonight." Dan said.

"What reason?" Nathan asked.

"I have something to ask your mom."

"Really?" Deb asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Really." Dan said, pulling out a box and getting down on one knee.

"Deb, I know we said we were starting over, but I wanted to do more than just say it. I wanted to show you how committed I am to being your husband and being a father to our boys. Will you help me show that by marrying me again?"

Deb nodded silently, too emotional to speak.

Dan slid the ring on her finger and hugged her. Other people in the restaurant were watching excitedly.

Nathan and Lucas stood up to hug Deb and Dan. Lucas grinned at his brother who was smiling with tears in his eyes.

"This is everything I've wanted." Nathan whispered to Lucas as he watched his parents celebrate.

"You deserve it little brother." Lucas said, putting his arm around Nathan.

"We all deserve it." Nathan nodded.

Dan came over hugged both of his sons at the same time.

"I love you both so much."

"I love you too Dad." Nathan and Lucas replied happily.

* * *

Lucas woke up on his birthday to the smell of bacon. He looked at his phone and saw he already had a happy birthday message from Brooke. He smiled and got dressed before heading downstairs.

He was surprised to find Nathan, Jake, Mouth, and Skillz sitting at the table waiting for him.

"We thought the smell of bacon might be enough to wake you." Jake said.

"Happy birthday big brother." Nathan jumped up and gave Lucas a hug.

"Thanks man. What's all this?"

"You're being kidnapped." Karen said, coming in and giving him a hug, and a kiss on the forehead.

"Should I be scared?" Lucas asked, glancing at Nathan.

"Not at all. We're going to blindfold you and take you to do a secret activity at a secret location." Jake grinned.

"That's really helpful Jake, thanks."

"Anytime my friend."

"Sit down and eat. I have more coming from the kitchen in just a few minutes."

"Thanks mom."

* * *

"So why is this starting so early?" Lucas asked, touching the blindfold around his head.

"No peeking." Nathan said, swatting his arm.

"We wanted to do as much as possible. There's more than one stop today." Mouth said.

"Okay I can tell we're at the beach." Lucas said as the car came to a stop.

Nathan got out of the car and opened the door for Lucas, helping him out of the car.

"First stop, jet skis! Luckily it feels like summer already." Jake said, ripping off the blindfold.

Lucas grinned.

"You guys are the best. Where the hell did you get jet skis?"

"Your stepdad hooked us up." Skillz said, clapping Lucas on the shoulder.

"Seriously?" Lucas asked, glancing at Nathan.

"Actually the whole kidnapping thing was his idea. Apparently he and his buddies did this for birthdays growing up."

"Oh good, so I get to kidnap you in a few months?"

"I wouldn't mind." Nathan grinned.

"Thanks guys. This is great. Let's get going."

* * *

"Holy hell this sunburn is going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow." Nathan said as they headed back to Karen's house.

"It felt like summer out there today." Lucas agreed.

"Did you have fun?"

"This was seriously one of the best birthdays ever, little brother. Thanks again."

"Anytime. Andy helped a lot. It's too bad he had to work this week."

"There's always later."

"So you had a good time?"

"I had a great time."

"Good."

"I think I just want to jump in the shower. Or the pool."

"That sounds really good right about now. I think I'll do the same when I get home. It's ridiculously hot out for March."

"So is there anything else I should know about today?"

"Dad, my mom and I are coming back for dinner in a bit. I imagine Brooke will be there too."

"Sounds good. See you in a little while."

"Hi honey did you have a good day?" Karen asked as Lucas walked in the house.

"It was great, I can't believe they did all that for me."

"You have a great brother and good friends."

"And a great stepdad. Nate says Andy helped out a lot too."

"That he did. He's so sorry he won't be back until this weekend."

"It's not his fault. I hear we're having Dad, Deb and Nate over for dinner?"

"Don't forget Brooke."

"Of course. I'm going to go shower. "

"Go ahead. You look tired."

"Busy day. But it was great."

"You want to lay down for a bit before everyone comes? It should be another hour or so before we eat."

"That's a good idea."

"I'll let you know when they're here."

"Thanks Mom."

* * *

Lucas wandered downstairs later that evening. More than an hour and a half had passed.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"I thought you said an hour."

"I was just coming to get you. They're out on the deck."

Lucas followed his mom outside and saw Nathan standing with, his dad, Brooke and Deb.

And a bunch of other people, including Royal and May.

"Surprise!" They exclaimed.

Karen gave Lucas a hug and Brooke ran up to kiss him.

"This is insane." Lucas laughed.

"Happy birthday sweetie." May said, giving her grandson a hug. Royal clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you so much for coming."

"Well we have a lot of birthdays to make up for." Royal said.

"Starting with this one. Let's party." Nathan said, dragging his brother into the crowd.

* * *

"This is for you." Dan said, handing Lucas a small package later that night.

"Thanks Dad." Lucas said, unwrapping the paper.

He pulled out a copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_, obviously used.

"Figures." Nathan snorted.

"This is great." Lucas smiled, flipping through the pages.

"It's one of mine. I noticed you didn't have it. I wrote some notes in it when I read it in school."

Lucas frowned as he looked at the pages. He pulled out the book he had in his back pocket and flipped it open.

"Oh my God Luke, you brought a book to your own birthday party?" Nathan laughed.

"This one is yours too. The writing is the same." Lucas said in disbelief, holding up the book.

Dan nodded.

"Keith used to give me these every year on my birthday."

"Your dad gave me a bunch of books to give to you. I told him you liked to read, and he gave me those to share with you." Keith said, putting his arm around Lucas.

"You told me that you found these at the used bookstore. I just thought you found a bunch that somebody had donated."

"Not so much. When you told me how much you liked the notes in the margins, I knew this was a good idea." Keith grinned.

Lucas hugged his uncle, and once they broke apart, Dan pulled his son close.

"I love you. I love you both." Lucas said happily.

"I love you too." Dan said.

"I love you too nephew. Happy birthday." Keith said.

"My turn?" Nathan asked. He was holding something behind his back.

"Sure." Lucas smiled.

Nathan pulled out Lucas's jersey and handed it to him. It was now covered with signatures.

"Everyone signed it?" Lucas asked, reading all of the signatures.

"The whole team. Plus Whitey."

Lucas was looking intently at one of the signatures.

"And the guy from Duke?"

"He was really impressed with the plays you came up with. He was at the last game."

"This is amazing. Thank you. All of you."

"Happy birthday big brother. I love you." Nathan said, giving his brother a quick hug.

"I love you Nate. I can't imagine having a better brother or best friend."

"Me either. I'm really glad we're going to school together next year."

"Wait, what?" Dan asked.

"We're both going to Duke." Lucas said.

"Oh honey, that's amazing! That's great!" Karen exclaimed, hugging both of them.

* * *

Later than evening, most of the adults were sitting around talking while the kids jumped into the pool.

"Hey." Haley grinned as she walked up to Nathan.

"Hello yourself. You're looking pretty good in that swimsuit." Nathan said, giving her a kiss.

"Lucas said he had the best time today."

"It was really fun. Andy's idea was really great."

"I'm glad. So can I talk to you about something?"

"Go for it."

"I heard you and Lucas say you're going to Duke."

"Yeah…"

"I just wanted to say that I'm going to Stanford still."

"I know, Haley. I wouldn't ask you to change your mind."

"Stanford is my dream. It's been my dream for a very long time."

"Of course."

"I just wanted you to understand that. It's not that I want to be away from you or anything like that."

"No, I understand. I really understand now."

"Good. I'm going to miss you like crazy though."

"Me too. But you're worth the wait."

"You too." Haley said, kissing him.

"Get a room." Brooke yelled from across the pool.

"You're worse!" Nathan called back, splashing her.

Brooke shrieked and started splashing back.

Lucas was too busy laughing to help his girlfriend out.

"Boyfriend you're no help!" Brooke complained.

"Sorry Cheery, I'm just too entertained."

"Happy birthday, best friend." Haley said, taking advantage of having a moment alone with Lucas.

"Thank you best friend."

"So, Duke with Nathan. That's going to be interesting."

"I'm really excited. It's going to be amazing."

"I told Nathan I'm still going to Stanford."

"Of course you are. Once Haley James puts her mind to something, watch out world."

"I'm going to miss you. And your stupid jokes."

"Right back at you Hales."

"My jokes aren't stupid."

"If you say so." Lucas grinned.

"Hey!" Haley laughed, splashing him.

"Oh no, not you too!"

* * *

Later that week, Lucas and Jake walked up to Karen's house to find a sign taped to the front door.

**Boyfriend, **

**Please come into the kitchen as soon as you see this.**

**Jagielski, go take a walk around the block or something.**

**Love,**

**Brooke.**

"How did she know I was with you?" Jake asked, laughing.

"I don't know."

"I'm going to take that walk. Have fun, whatever this is."

"Thanks man."

Lucas opened the door and walked into the kitchen slowly.

"Surprise!" Brooke exclaimed.

The kitchen was filled with balloons and Brooke was standing with a plate of cupcakes. Written on the cupcakes was PROM?

"Oh my God. You _baked?"_Lucas teased.

"Very funny. What do you think Broody?"

"Of course I want to go to prom with you. Is that even a question?"

"I wanted to do something nice for you."

"You're amazing, Brooke Davis. And a little crazy."

"I love you, Lucas Scott."

"I love you too."

* * *

"That sounds really cool, Luke." Nathan said on the phone later that night.

"It was incredibly sweet. I can't believe she went to all that effort."

"She loves you man. Of course she would."

"That's true."

"So were the cupcakes edible?"

"Yes." Lucas laughed.

"Did she actually make them?"

"She finally admitted my mom helped her."

"It's the thought that counts."

"Definitely."

"I want to do something like that for Haley."

"You should. She deserves it."

"Would you help me figure something out?"

"Of course."

"Thanks Luke."

"Always."

* * *

**Fun stuff ahead. Prom, graduation, the works. **


	62. Chapter 62

**Not a single review for the last chapter...-tear-**

**Just kidding. Y'all were just on vacation, right? ;) **

* * *

Haley was sitting with Brooke and Peyton outside the school when Lucas and Jake approached. Lucas held out an envelope to Haley.

"What's this?"

"Secret message."

"Intriguing." Haley laughed as she opened the envelope.

"What is it?" Brooke asked.

"It looks like I'm going on a scavenger hunt." Haley smiled. She gathered up her stuff and reread the note.

"Off you go." Lucas said, shooing her away.

"Am I supposed to go alone?"

"I'm just the messenger."

"Right. See you later." Haley flashed one more smile at her friends and rushed off.

"So Nathan must have come up with a great way to ask her to prom." Brooke said, smiling at her boyfriend.

"He wanted to do something memorable."

"That's sweet. Jake here just showed up at my house with the tickets and said 'Hell yeah' then scarfed down some pizza." Peyton said, wrinkling her nose at Jake, who made a face back at her.

"What can I say, I'm a romantic." Jake laughed.

* * *

Haley walked up to the dock where Nathan stood in a suit, holding a bouquet of roses.

"Wow." Haley gasped.

"I see you followed my clues correctly."

"This is amazing."

"I was thinking about doing this in the morning, just like our tutoring sessions. But I couldn't wait."

"This is perfect."

"Haley, I want to have the most amazing prom ever. Will you please be my date?"

"Of course, Nathan Scott." Haley said, taking the bouquet from him.

"Good. I'm glad."

"You didn't have to go all of this trouble."

"I wanted to. I'm big on making up for lost time lately."

"No complaints here."

"I have something else to ask you."

"What's that?"

"Saturday night, will you go on our first official date? Our second first official date, I mean."

"What are we doing?"

"Will that affect your answer?"

"No." Haley smiled.

"I was thinking the typical high school couple thing. Dinner, movie, the usual."

"I think I'm free."

* * *

"So it sounds like it went well." Lucas said on the phone later that night.

"It was perfect. Thanks for all your help."

"No problem. Anything for my best friend and my brother."

"I appreciate it."

"So listen, Nate…"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to remind you, that Haley is my best friend. She means a lot to me. I know I definitely wasn't for you guys getting together at first last year, but I want you to know that I couldn't be happier for you two."

"That means a lot, Luke. Thanks."

"However. If you hurt her, you have to answer to me. That's a promise."

"I have no plans to hurt her, trust me. I know how lucky I am."

"Good."

"Hey, what about me though?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm your brother, man. Aren't you worried about me getting hurt?"

"Well that's why I gave Haley the same talk about you." Lucas laughed.

"You're the best, man. If not a little crazy."

"Runs in the family."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Listen, I gotta go. Dinner time. See you tomorrow?"

"You know it."

"Okay. I love you Nate."

"I love you too. Bye."

* * *

"It sounds like you guys are getting excited for prom." Andy said at dinner.

"Yeah I can't wait. It should be fun."

"Lucas, we have something we wanted to talk to you about." Karen said suddenly.

"What's up?"

"Remember when I went to join Andy on his trip?"

Lucas nodded.

"I didn't go to Charleston just because I was missing Andy."

"Thanks Karen." Andy laughed.

Lucas noticed that he seemed very nervous.

"Why did you go?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I wanted to tell him that…I'm pregnant honey. We're having a baby."

Lucas dropped his fork, the clatter echoing throughout the dining room.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course." Karen said quickly.

"This is a good thing." Karen insisted.

"You're right. Of course it is. I'm sorry. So tell me everything." Lucas smiled.

"Well we don't know much yet, I'm only about six weeks pregnant."

"Is the baby okay so far?"

"Everything seems great."

"That's great Mom."

"I know this must be kind of strange for you." Andy said.

"Maybe a little." Lucas admitted.

"This is something that I really want. I didn't think I did to be perfectly honest, but I couldn't be happier." Karen said.

"I'm happy for you. Really."

As soon as he was excused from dinner, he pulled out his phone to call Nathan.

* * *

"Hey man, what's so urgent?" Nathan said later than night, walking up to Lucas at the playground.

"I just needed to get out of the house. My head is spinning."

"What happened?"

"I just don't know how many more changes I can take."

"Luke, what's going on?" Nathan asked, starting get worried.

"My mom is having a baby."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Weird. Really weird."

"That sounds about right."

"I mean I'm glad they're so excited, but it just seems really sudden."

"Well they've been married a couple of months now. Besides, doesn't Andy want kids?"

"Yeah but my mom didn't want kids. That's why she and Andy broke up originally."

"Do you think she's happy though?"

"Yeah I do. I don't doubt that. I just wish everything wasn't changing so quickly. I know some of it like the joint custody agreement was my idea, but I've already been moved out of my childhood home and now they're having a baby? I'm just getting used to the idea of sharing my mom with Andy and now they're having a baby together."

"Can I be honest with you? I am not a big fan of this either."

"Why's that?"

"It's going to sound dumb. Never mind." Nathan said quickly.

"Come on Nate."

"Well. It's just that I don't want to share you. I don't like you being someone else's older brother, especially since it's not a sibling we share."

"I understand."

"Is that stupid?"

"No it's not stupid."

"Maybe a little selfish though."

"Maybe just a little." Lucas grinned.

"Look, I know we have our friends, and you have people you consider your best friends besides me—"

"You understand that nothing can change our relationship though, right?" Lucas interrupted.

"It better not."

"And you are my best friend by the way."

"Thanks Luke. You too."

"Besides, it could be a girl so you would still be my only brother."

"No way. What the hell are we supposed to do with a girl?"

"She could still be a basketball player."

"More like Brooke's own dress up doll."

"That's far more likely." Lucas agreed.

"What does she think of all this by the way?"

"I haven't told her. My mom actually wants to tell her. Which is sweet."

"She'll probably be more excited about this than she was about the wedding. If that's even possible."

"Probably."

"Hey, can we keep the whole baby thing between us for now?"

"Who would I tell?"

"Dad."

"Oh. Right. What do you think he'll say by the way?"

"I don't even know."

"I'm sure it will be fine Luke."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming out Nate. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You got it, big brother."

* * *

"Baby, what color dress should I get for prom?" Brooke asked Lucas.

Lucas dropped his book in mock disbelief.

"You're asking me?"

"Very funny. I just don't know which dress to get."

"Brooke, whatever you get will be so beautiful. I loved your homecoming dress."

"Prom needs to be absolutely perfect."

"It will be. Prom is going to be great."

"It's one of our last nights as a group, and I don't want anything to go wrong."

"Do you want me to go shopping with you?"

"No. It's really sweet of you to offer though. I know how much you hate shopping."

"I would do it for you."

"Thanks baby."

"However, maybe you and Peyton should go. I know you want to spend as much time as you can with her before she moves."

"That's true. That's what I would normally do anyway."

"So is it safe to assume that you're making all of the plans for prom?"

"If you know what's good for you."

"Noted."

* * *

"So I was thinking of a blue dress for prom." Haley told Nathan at the café. Nathan had come to visit her while she worked.

"That sounds nice." Nathan said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Brooke is taking care of most of the plans."

"Really?"

"I wouldn't expect anything else. It's probably just easier to go with what she wants."

"You really are okay with letting her plan our prom too?"

"All that matters is that you're my date."

"You're right. I'm so glad we're going together."

"Me too. Looking back at the beginning of the year, I didn't think it was possible."

"Yeah really. This time last year was awful."

"So much has changed."

"I never imagined that I would be sitting here about to graduate, going to Duke. With my brother who has become my best friend. Plus my parents are getting remarried and my dad has been so great. I can't even believe it."

"What about being with me?"

"That's never crazy. It just seemed impossible for the longest time."

"Thank goodness we made our way back to each other."

"Definitely. I'm glad my parents made their way back to each other too."

"Are they still doing alright?"

"Better than ever actually. My dad said finding out about what my mom did was a major wake up call for him. It really hit him how awful he had been up until recently. He knew that he treated Luke and Karen horribly, but I don't know how much he realized that the way he acted affected me and my mom too."

"Lucas has wanted this for such a long time. As long as I can remember."

"I'm glad he gave Dad another chance. I'm glad he gave me another chance too. I wasn't sure he was ever going to speak to our dad again after seeing him in the hospital. But I guess that whole mess ended up being for the best."

"Yeah, thank God he was there the night of the fire." Haley said without thinking.

Nathan choked on the sip of water he was drinking.

Haley went pale, horrified at her slip up.

"What?" Nathan asked, his voice strained.

"Damn." Haley said quietly.

"Haley, what are you talking about?"

"Damn it. Luke swore me to secrecy."

"What happened?"

"Nathan—"

"Haley, you have to tell me right now."

"Lucas was the one who pulled your dad out of the dealership."

"You're not serious."

"Nathan, you can't tell anyone. He's going to be so mad when he finds out I told you"

"I have to go." Nathan said, getting up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to talk to him. I'll call you later?"

"Okay."

"See you."

* * *

"I think I can get the shop up and running in about two more weeks." Keith told Lucas.

"That's great."

"Well, we'll see if people still show up."

"I'm sure they will. They did before. You just need to spread the word."

"Luke, I need to talk to you." Nathan said breathlessly, running into the shop and grabbing Lucas by the wrist.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Just wanted to talk to you for a sec. Hey Keith."

"Hey Nathan. Sorry but I've got about a thousand phone calls to make so I'll be in the back."

"Something's wrong Nate. I can tell." Lucas said as soon as Keith was out of earshot.

"Haley told me."

"Told you what?"

"About the fire."

Lucas sighed. His hand unconsciously went to his side where he had a scar.

"You got hurt didn't you?"

"I'm okay."

"Lucas."

"It's fine."

"Let me see."

"Nathan, it's fine. Really. Compared to everything else that my body's been through this year, this is nothing." Lucas said, lifting up his shirt a little bit so Nathan could see.

Nathan swallowed hard, tears forming in his eyes.

"Nate, I'm okay." Lucas said gently.

"No you're not."

"I am. I promise. It's just a burn. Let's all remember that I've had a heart attack, I've been in a coma, I'm missing a spleen, I've been in two car accidents and I'm barely eighteen."

Nathan laughed.

"Please don't worry about me Nate."

"Why won't you tell Dad?"

"It's way too complicated. It's better this way, trust me."

"You saved his life and he doesn't even know."

"I'd like it to stay that way."

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"Well, I don't know why I did it to be honest. At least not at the time. That's why I don't want anyone to know. How am I supposed to look Dad in the eye and tell him I'm not sure why I would have wanted to save his life?"

"He would understand. He understood why my mom drugged him."

"Please don't tell him."

"I don't understand why."

"Do you need to understand?"

"I guess not."

"Thank you Nate."

"Thank you for giving our family a second chance."

* * *

"Have you heard from Lucas?" Deb asked Dan.

"Not yet. He might have plans with Brooke and decide to come home tomorrow. I can call and ask." Dan replied.

"That might be him." Deb said as the house phone rang.

"Hello?" Dan said, picking up the phone.

"Hey Dan it's Karen."

"Hey Karen, I guess Lucas is planning to come over tomorrow morning?"

"Well unfortunately, he and Brooke seem to have a stomach virus so I'm not sure if he should come over just yet."

"What happened?"

"He and Brooke have been sick all day. I'm not sure if it's food poisoning or not, but they haven't gone anywhere new so I doubt it."

"That's terrible. I hope they feel better soon."

"I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks Karen."

"No problem."

"Hey." Brooke said quietly, coming into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better. Now I'm just tired. Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Of course. There's no reason you need to be alone."

"That means a lot. How's Lucas doing?"

"Still not great. But if you're doing better maybe then he's due to recover soon too."

"I hope so."

Lucas finally made his way down a few hours later.

"I think the worst is over. Where's Brooke?" Lucas mumbled as he flopped down on the coach.

"She's sleeping in the guest room. She's better but she was tired."

"I am too."

"I'm so sorry you two got sick." Karen said sympathetically.

"It's okay. Are you and Andy still going out tonight?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Oh come on. We'll be fine. You two need to go celebrate. You guys are having a baby."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't know, you're the ones who told me you were having the baby."

Karen rolled her eyes.

"You know what I meant. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Positive."

* * *

"Okay so what should we do first?" Nathan asked Haley.

"You didn't plan anything?" Haley teased.

"I told you my basic plan. Dinner? Movie? Sound familiar?"

"Want to go for a walk? I'm not hungry yet."

"Sounds good. Did you hear Luke and Brooke are sick?"

"Oh no, what's wrong?"

"Either a stomach virus or food poisoning."

"That sucks."

"I know I see him all the time but I still miss him when he's at Karen's. Dad makes fun of us because we still call each other every night if he's with his mom."

"That's cute actually." Haley laughed.

"He'll be better soon though. Shall we?"

"We shall. So, how about that walk?"

"Yeah. Lead the way."

Haley took his hand as they passed the café. Deb saw them through the window and waved.

"I'm glad your mom is okay with us being together."

"She wants me to be happy. You are what makes me happy."

"Right back at you."

"How's prom dress shopping going?"

"Perfect. I found my dress. Now I just need shoes."

"Well you know who would love to help you. Once she's better."

"Maybe I'll ask her and Peyton if they want to shop. I just don't want to intrude on anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Well they're going to be separated and they've been friends forever. And Peyton's off to California."

"So are you." Nathan pointed out.

"True. I just want to end high school on a high note."

"We will." Nathan said, squeezing her hand.

* * *

Lucas woke up and searched around for Brooke. He could hear the television going downstairs.

"Hey." Brooke called out.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Please do."

"Okay I'm going to grab some water."

Lucas filled a glass with water and went to place it on the counter. He was still really lightheaded. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a second. Maybe he needed to sit down.

"Hey Brooke?" He called out.

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground surrounded by shattered glass, water, and what appeared to be blood.

"Oh my God, baby. What happened?"

Lucas became extremely aware of the pain in his shoulder. His heart was racing.

"I think I passed out." Lucas mumbled.

"Take this and press it to your forehead. You're bleeding."

"I cut my head on the glass?"

"No I think you hit your head on the counter. Your hand is bleeding too."

"My shoulder hurts too. I think it's dislocated."

Brooke swallowed hard, trying to keep calm.

"We need to get you to the hospital."

"Let's call Nathan. Mom and Andy are probably still at dinner."

"No, it's okay. I'll take you."

"You're sick and shaken up."

"I'm okay."

"Call Nathan. It's okay."

Brooke nodded and got up to find her phone.

"He's not answering. It's going straight to voicemail."

"Oh. Weird. Here, call my dad."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's okay."

"Hello?" Dan answered.

"Hi Mr. Scott, it's Brooke."

"How are you guys feeling? Karen told me you guys were sick."

"We were doing better, but Lucas passed out and hit his head on the counter. He thinks he dislocated his shoulder. The one he hurt in the accident?"

"Where's Karen and Andy?"

"At dinner. Lucas and I were feeling better so we told them to go."

"Okay. I'll be right there. Stay put."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Are you nervous about starting college?" Nathan asked Haley at dinner.

"A little bit. I've never lived anywhere but here before. I'm used to this town and the people. It will be weird to not know anybody."

"They might really want to get to know you, if they saw you on tour."

"I kind of hope not."

"Why?"

"Stanford is a place I can start over. Nobody knows me there. That's one plus."

"I guess I'm lucky that I'll have Lucas with me."

"You guys are really lucky to have that."

"I'm going to miss our friends though. It feels like I finally found people to support me, not just people to party with."

"I guess it's going to be different next year with all new teammates."

"Definitely different. I'm going to miss them. Especially Jake. We've gotten to be good friends this year."

"What about Tim?"

"Well Tim is doing community college so he'll be around. You, Jake, and Peyton. All going to California."

"You, Lucas, and Brooke, all staying here in Tree Hill."

"East coast versus west coast." Nathan joked.

Haley rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you."

"Me too Haley."

* * *

"I still can't get ahold of Nathan or Haley." Brooke sighed.

"Karen said she and Andy are on their way." Dan said.

"Thanks for coming to get us. I was going to drive but Lucas didn't think it was a good idea."

"Of course. You did great with him. I'm glad you were there."

"Dan!" Karen called out.

"Hey. He's okay. He's just getting stitches."

"What happened?"

"He was still a little lightheaded it seems. When he passed out, he hit his head on the counter and knocked a glass of water over, which cut up his hand. Then he landed badly on his shoulder. Luckily Brooke was there to save the day."

"I didn't do anything." Brooke said quietly.

"You did great. I'm so thankful you were there." Dan assured her.

"Thanks."

"Hey there. Lucas is doing well. He needed some stitches on his forehead and his hand, and a sling for his shoulder, but other than that he just needs to rest." The doctor said, approaching Dan and Karen.

"Does he need to stay overnight?" Karen asked.

"No, he should be okay to go home soon. He was still dehydrated so we're going to let him be on an IV for a few more hours."

"Thank you." Dan said.

"He is around the corner, second door to the left if you want to go see him."

"Thanks." Andy said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"There you are." Lucas said, smiling at everyone coming in. Brooke sat down on the side of his bed and kissed him on the forehead.

"So two months since your last visit, not bad." Karen said.

"A new record for this year." Lucas agreed.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Dan asked.

"It's alright." Lucas shrugged.

"The doctors can give you something."

"I don't need it." Lucas said firmly.

"Okay. We've been trying to call Nathan but he's not answering."

"Oh." Lucas said quietly.

"I think he and Haley are out somewhere." Brooke pointed out.

"I'll go try again. I'll be right back." Dan said, going out into the hallway.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Karen assured Lucas.

"Hey, while we're waiting...did you want to tell Brooke?"

"Tell me what?" Brooke asked, looking between Lucas and Karen.

"Andy and I are having a baby." Karen said, smiling.

"That's amazing!" Brooke squealed, rushing over to hug her.

* * *

"Wow, everyone's been calling me." Nathan said, finally looking at his phone.

"You didn't have your phone?"

"I turned it off during the movie. I guess I forgot to turn it back on. Hang on a sec, let me listen to my messages."

Haley nodded and took his hand while he listened to his phone.

"Shit." Nathan said, slamming his phone shut and yanking his hand away from Haley's. He fumbled around for his keys.

"What's wrong?"

"Lucas is in the hospital. I've got to go."

"What happened?"

"He fell and hurt his shoulder and cut his head on the counter."

"Let's go."

"Damn it."

"Nathan he'll be okay."

"Damn it." Nathan said again.

* * *

"Lucas should be back in his room." A nurse told Dan.

"Oh good." Dan said.

"Thanks for letting us know." Andy said.

"Are you his brother? I've heard you two are the best of friends." The nurse said to Andy.

Dan couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing.

"I'm his stepfather actually. His brother should be here soon. Hopefully." Andy said, smiling too.

"Oh I'm so sorry." The nurse laughed nervously.

The awkward moment was saved by Nathan rushing up to them. Andy saw Nathan first and immediately pointed down the hall.

"Room 306."

"Thanks Andy."

Nathan rushed off, leaving a bewildered Haley behind.

"He's going to be fine." Dan told Haley.

"Good to know." Haley mumbled, dejectedly following Nathan.

* * *

"Luke." Nathan said breathlessly, hurrying into the room.

Lucas was sitting on a bed in his regular clothes, hooked up to an IV.

"Hey."

"I'm so sorry." Nathan said frantically, rushing over to where Lucas was sitting.

"For what?" Lucas asked, tired.

Nathan looked at his brother's face and remembered that Lucas didn't want to be fussed over.

"Sorry that you're a dumbass. Faint on the couch next time, and stop breaking crap. I'm sure Andy paid a lot for that glass you broke." Nathan teased.

Lucas cracked up.

"Oh how I've missed you. Where have you been?"

"Sorry. I turned off my phone during a movie."

"Where's Haley?"

"Here." Haley said quietly.

"Hey best friend. I think I've finally surpassed you in klutziness."

"Impossible." Haley smiled weakly.

"It's good to see you guys together." Lucas smiled.

"It's good to be together. Where's Brooke by the way?" Nathan asked.

"My mom took her home to get new clothes. She got blood on her shirt."

"She must have been terrified."

"Yeah she was, but she was amazing. I was a mess but she called Dad and really saved the day."

"Thank God she was there." Haley said.

* * *

Once Lucas was getting ready to go home, Nathan and Haley walked out into the hall. Haley walked ahead of Nathan, not really acknowledging him.

"Haley, I'm sorry that I kind of rushed off and left you behind."

"I feel like you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, I was just worried about Luke and I wasn't thinking. I'm just usually there for him when these things happen and I didn't want him to think I didn't care."

"Nathan, you can't be with him all the time. He knows that."

"I know. I'm just protective of him. He's been through so much and I just want to be there for him. The day he had that heart attack was one of the worst days of my life. I was so scared."

"Of course, Nathan. But it would be impossible to watch him all the time. Sometimes somebody else might have to be there for him. It isn't fair to treat me like I kept him from you."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I almost lost him that day."

"I know."

"I was the one who found him, did you know that?"

"I heard. You must have been so scared."

"He was slumped on the floor, and he was in so much pain. He couldn't even tell me what was happening. I was screaming for my dad, and I just felt him go limp. His pulse was all over the place, and he was sweating, but he was cold. Seriously, I thought he was going to die. For a second I thought he did right there."

"Oh Nathan…"

"I'm sorry I blew you off, Haley. I can't promise that I won't be scared and let that consume me if something like this happens. I just can't. I won't forget that feeling, ever."

"Let's hope this isn't a regular thing."

"It has been though. I hate it. I'm never going to stop being scared of losing him."

"You can't go through life being scared of losing people."

"You're right. I'm still struggling with it though."

"Just think, you are spending the next four years at school together. Lucas is so excited."

"I am too. But hey, have I mentioned how much I am going to miss you?"

"I don't think so." Haley teased.

"Thank you for being here with me. This year I promised myself to say I love you as often as I can. Especially after Lucas had that heart attack. I make sure to tell my parents and Luke that I love them every day, at least once. I love you Haley."

"I love you too Nathan."

"I missed way too many days of telling you I loved you. I won't let that happen again."

"Good."

* * *

**Coming up in the upcoming chapter(s)...**

**-Prom (of course!)**

**-A little relationship drama**

**-Bubblz's evil thought: Hmm...Lucas and Nathan haven't had a fight in awhile...UH OH ;) **


	63. Chapter 63

**Hi all! Thank you for the lovely reviews! I do enjoy some Hurt!Lucas myself. **

* * *

Nathan sat on his bed playing a video game while Lucas was sleeping next to him.

"How's he doing?" Dan asked from the doorway.

"Pretty good. He fell asleep in the middle of the sentence and has been out cold ever since."

"Well, don't take it personally. He had a rough day yesterday."

"I don't take it personally. He was the one talking." Nathan grinned.

"Nice. Hey, I think your mom is making breakfast downstairs."

"Oh…" Nathan said slowly, glancing at Lucas.

"He'll be fine. Come have breakfast with us. Lucas will get up when he's ready."

"Let's just hope he can make it down the stairs without incident."

"He'll be fine."

"You're right. Let's go." Nathan said, getting up carefully so he wouldn't wake up Lucas.

"Something smells good." Dan commented as he followed Nathan into the kitchen.

"Thank you. It's been awhile since I made a real breakfast for my men."

"It looks great, Mom." Nathan said as he sat down at the table.

"How's your brother doing?" Deb asked.

"Out like a light."

"I imagine he will probably be resting most of today." Dan said.

"Yeah definitely."

"Any plans with Haley today?" Deb asked.

"No, I think I'll hang out at home. We had a good time last night up until getting that message about Luke being in the hospital."

"You know Nathan, Lucas will probably be sleeping most of the day if you want to get out of the house. We're going to keep an eye on him, and I'm sure Karen will be checking up on him too."

"I know. I'm okay hanging out here."

"Nathan…"

"I want to stay." Nathan said firmly.

"Okay." Deb nodded.

"How are the vow renewal plans going?" Nathan asked, eager to change the subject.

"They're going well. We want to do it before you boys start school in the fall, so it's been a little hectic. But it seems to be coming together nicely. Karen has been a lot of help. She managed to put on that beautiful wedding on such short notice."

"That's true." Nathan agreed.

The phone started ringing in the other room so Deb went off to answer it.

"Did you work things out with Haley? She seemed a little put off at the hospital."

"Yeah I was a jerk and blew her off once I heard about Luke. I felt really bad. I just panicked when I heard he got hurt."

"Did you apologize?"

"Oh yeah, of course. I explained to her how I was feeling. I think she understood. Ever since Lucas had the heart attack, I can't stop flashing back to that moment when something happens to him."

"I know what you mean."

"Since Haley and I weren't really talking when that happened, I told her about it yesterday. I think it helped."

"It must be interesting for her, getting back into a relationship with you again. Last year it was really the two of you against the world in a lot of ways."

"As much as I loved having her as my constant, I can't say I'm unhappy with my current family circumstances."

"I'm glad to hear that son."

"Hey." Lucas mumbled sleepily from the doorway. His yawned and attempted to smooth out his bedhead.

"You look like hell." Nathan said, smiling.

"Thanks little brother. It reflects how I feel."

"Do you feel sick still?"

"No I'm just left with a lovely headache and a stupid sling." Lucas said, gesturing with his arm in the sling.

"Oh honey do you want something to eat? Your mom just called to check on you." Deb said, coming back into the room.

"Yes please." Lucas said, sitting down next to Nathan.

"I think that food poisoning or whatever has left you scrawnier than ever." Nathan commented.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"We were just talking about the vow renewal. I was thinking of asking Keith to stand up there with us." Dan said.

"With us?" Nathan asked.

"Of course you guys will be up there with me and your mom. This is just as much about us as a family as it is about renewing our wedding vows."

"That sounds really cool, Dad." Lucas said, smiling.

* * *

"Hey Hales." Brooke said as she caught up with Haley leaving her apartment.

"Hey Brooke. Let me guess, you're heading over to see Lucas?"

"You got it."

"Let me drive you. I'm heading over to see Nathan."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah I was going to see if he wanted to go do something."

"Oh, Haley." Brooke said, stopping to look at her friend.

"What?"

"You are not getting Nathan away from Lucas today."

"What do you mean? Lucas is going to be fine."

"Honey, I'm just hoping to sneak in a kiss or two and maybe help Deb make Lucas lunch today. Nathan pretty much has unofficial dibs on Lucas after any health incident."

"But you're Lucas's girlfriend!" Haley protested

Brooke shrugged, smiling.

"Lucas is going to be sleeping most of the day." Haley said.

"And Nathan will be right there next to him playing on his X-Box or whatever."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Let's go and see." Brooke said, opening Haley's car door for her.

* * *

"Congrats, Luke. I think you ate a third of your breakfast." Nathan laughed.

"That's not bad considering I spent the last two days throwing up."

"That's a lovely image."

"Anytime little brother."

"Want to go back upstairs?"

"Sure."

"Let's go." Nathan said, helping Lucas up.

"I hate this thing." Lucas said, touching is sling.

"Oh yeah, your mom told me to watch out for you. She said you had a bad habit of taking it off last time." Deb said.

"Yeah." Lucas sighed.

"Are you still feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks Deb. For everything."

"You might want to run a comb through your hair or something." Nathan commented to Lucas once they were upstairs.

"Is it bad?"

"Yes. And I just saw our girlfriends pull into the driveway."

"Like clockwork." Lucas laughed, heading to his room to make himself presentable.

* * *

"We've been expecting you." Nathan said, opening the door for Brooke and Haley.

"Of course." Brooke smiled.

"He should be right down."

"How's he doing?" Haley asked.

"Pretty well. Managed to eat a little bit this morning. Fell asleep as soon as we got home last night."

Lucas was slowly making his way down the stairs. Nathan moved towards the stairs to help Lucas with the last few steps.

"Thanks man. I don't need any more falls."

"That's for sure."

"Hi baby." Brooke said, wrapping her arms around Lucas.

"Hey pretty girl. Thanks for coming." Lucas said, resting his chin on the top of Brooke's head.

"Of course. I brought your best friend as well."

"Why thank you. Hey Hales." Lucas said, smiling at Haley.

"I'm glad you're doing okay." Haley said.

"You guys want to hang out?" Lucas asked.

"It's definitely a video game or movie day." Nathan said.

"Are you sure you feel up to it?" Brooke asked.

"I'm always up for spending time with my beautiful girlfriend."

"I think I might go actually." Haley said.

"No, you should stay. Luke, go find a movie you want to sleep through." Nathan said, patting his brother on the back.

"Sure." Lucas nodded.

"I'll come with you and say hi to the parents." Brooke said.

Lucas took Brooke's hand and headed towards the living room.

"Nathan, I don't want to intrude on anything." Haley said quietly.

"You're not intruding. Let's hang out today. Luke, Brooke, and I hang out all the time."

"Okay." Haley said, smiling.

"Haley, you should come get your hair done with me and Peyton for prom." Brooke said when Haley came in the living room.

"Absolutely. I'm getting so excited."

"Me too. Your boy and I have planned out quite the night."

"Wait, you and Nathan?"

"Yeah. He told me that I was not going to take over his prom so he demanded that he help me plan the evening."

"I know better than to mess with Brooke Davis and event planning, but my little brother is too stubborn." Lucas said.

"I am not." Nathan said, coming back into the room.

"You didn't even hear what we were talking about."

"You called me stubborn, which is absurd."

"Yeah, okay." Lucas laughed.

"So what are we talking about?" Nathan asked.

"Prom. Of course." Brooke said.

"Of course. Do you and I ever talk about anything else these days?"

"Nope."

"I didn't realize you two were spending so much time on this." Haley said.

"They spent two hours arguing on the phone the other night." Lucas said, yawning.

Haley watched as Nathan and Brooke bantered back and forth for a few more minutes. Lucas shifted on the couch, starting to nod off.

"Oops, we're losing him." Brooke laughed, scooting closer to Lucas and snuggling up to him.

"I guess we can pick what we watch now."

"Laguna Beach?" Brooke teased.

"Never again." Nathan laughed.

"Guys, I just remembered that I have to tutor somebody. I'm sorry, I totally spaced." Haley said, standing up suddenly.

"Oh. Okay. I'll walk you out." Nathan said.

"Yeah. Sorry, tell Lucas I'll call him later."

"Haley is everything okay?" Nathan asked once they got into the hallway.

"Yeah. I just have to go."

"What did I do?"

"Nothing. Go hang out with Brooke."

"What?"

"Sorry. And Lucas."

"Haley, you've got to be kidding me. Are you, like jealous of me and Brooke? She's my brother's girlfriend. We've gotten to be really good friends lately. So what?"

"Nathan, I think that I don't fit here anymore."

"What?"

"I don't fit into your life. Everything's changed."

"Haley. I love you. That's the most important thing, and that has never changed."

"I love you too Nathan. I'm just trying to process everything."

"Listen, this is what my life is now. I like getting up and seeing my parents happy together. My brother is my best friend and when he's here, we usually are up late hanging out and then pick up right where we left off the next morning. And since Lucas and Brooke are obsessed with each other, she often hangs out with us. As a result, she and I have gotten to be good friends. The convenient thing is, you and Luke are already best friends so I figure that the four of us hanging out would just come naturally."

Haley smiled. What was she so worried about?

"So we're together because it's convenient?" Haley teased.

"Yes. I'm glad you understood the point of that whole speech." Nathan laughed.

"Nathan, I get it. I really do. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. It's okay. I just wanted to let you know that I love my life, and I love it even more with you in it."

Haley nodded and smiled.

"Okay?" Nathan said, taking her hands in his.

"Okay."

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow gorgeous. Stay safe." Brooke said later that afternoon, leaning in to kiss Lucas.

"Will do. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Bye Brooke." Nathan said.

"Bye."

"Was Haley okay?" Lucas asked after Brooke had left.

"Yeah. It was kind of weird, she was feeling insecure."

"Did she tell you that we spend too much time together?" Lucas teased, thinking about past arguments with Brooke.

"No, thankfully. I don't think she was fully prepared for how different my life is."

"The most important thing is that you love her. That hasn't changed."

"That's literally what I told her. I would accuse you of eavesdropping but I know you fell asleep by the time she and I talked about it. She understood once I explained it to her. She was weirded out that Brooke and I got to be such good friends. Like, she was jealous."

"Jealous?"

"She didn't say this but I think it's because of the thing we don't like to talk about."

"Oh. Wait, why do you think that?" Lucas asked.

"Well she texted me after she left, dropping hints about the after prom party. About…stuff."

"Oh jeez." Lucas groaned.

"Sorry I know you probably don't want to hear these kind of things about your best friend."

"Yeah."

"I don't want her to think that's what she has to do for our relationship to be good."

"I agree. This time around, Brooke and I waited. We really jumped into things last year, but waiting felt right this time." Lucas admitted.

"I'm willing to wait for her. I'm just worried that she sees Brooke or Theresa and all she can think about is my past with them."

"Wait, Theresa?"

"Yes Luke, you might remember the girl I was dating for several months? She was kind of important."

"You guys were having sex?"

"Yeah." Nathan shrugged.

Lucas stared at Nathan in disbelief.

"Oh don't give me that look." Nathan said, sighing.

"What look?"

"You're judging me."

"Nathan."

"What, Luke?"

"How could you go from being married to Haley to doing that?"

"What the hell, man? You encouraged me to try and move on."

"I know I did, but Haley is going to be devastated if she knew you and Theresa had...that kind of relationship."

"That's not fair, we both dated other people."

"Haley and Eric were not that involved though. You know that. Haley takes sex really seriously."

"Stop. Just stop." Nathan said, starting to get really angry.

Lucas sighed, knowing he was digging himself into a hole with his brother. He was torn between keeping the peace with Nathan and helping out his best friend.

"Look, I know Haley better than anyone. You can't keep this from her."

"I'll tell her eventually."

"It's only going to get worse if you don't tell her. She is not going to take it well. It's better to get it out in the open now. She's going to be hurt if she finds out you were keeping this from her."

"She knows that I am in love with her. As much as I liked Theresa, we all know that Haley had my heart the whole time."

"Then how could you have sex with someone else?"

"I don't know Lucas, you're the one who can go around cheating on his girlfriend and having random sex with Jake's crazy ex." Nathan blurted out.

Lucas swallowed hard and suppressed the urge to use his good arm to punch Nathan. Instead he just stared at the floor.

Nathan inhaled sharply, instantly regretting his words.

"You are a dick, you know that?" Lucas said quietly after a moment.

"Luke—"

"Forget it. I won't say anything to Haley, but the second she comes to me telling me what a jackass you are, I won't hesitate to agree with her. I'm sure it won't take long." Lucas said, getting up.

"I really care about Haley. You know that."

"If you say so."

"Don't be like this."

"Like what?"

"A self-righteous prick. You know I've changed."

Lucas felt terrible. He knew Nathan was right. But he was still pissed off, so he decided to leave instead.

"Doesn't seem like it." Lucas said as his parting blow.

* * *

Nathan paced in his room, fuming. He had waited for Lucas to slam his bedroom door before heading upstairs.

Soft knocking interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey." Lucas said quietly.

"What, is it round two already?" Nathan said bitterly.

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I was being a self-involved prick."

"A self-righteous prick." Nathan corrected him.

Lucas grinned.

"Right. That's the one. I am a jackass in the extreme."

"It's okay. I am too."

"I'm just looking out for Haley. It's hard because I'm used to only being on her side. It was easy for me to automatically say you were in the wrong."

"It must be kind of weird, having your best friend dating your brother. Especially since you like us both now."

"Well, most of the time." Lucas grinned.

"Hilarious."

"Seriously, Nate. You were right. It is your relationship and it is none of my business."

"I can't change the past, Luke. As much as I might want to."

"I know."

"It's not fair for you told hold it against me, but I can't hold yours against you either. What I said earlier was uncalled for, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Really. I deserved it."

"Do you think Haley will be mad if I tell her?"

"Nate, you know she's not going to like this information. I'm not trying to be a jackass here, I'm just trying to be straight with you. These are the things that really matter to Haley. You know she's never been with anyone but you."

"I know. You're right. I will tell her. I promise."

"Good."

"She's lucky to have you as her best friend, Luke."

"She's lucky to have you too. Don't ever doubt that."

"I'll try."

* * *

"Hales, you look amazing." Lucas said in awe a week later. Finally, the night of prom had arrived.

Haley walked up the pathway to Karen and Andy's house and smiled wide. She was wearing a midnight blue gown and had curled her hair.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself. Where's Brooke?"

"Upstairs getting ready."

"Of course. Where's your brother? I kind of want to wow my date sometime soon."

"Here he comes." Lucas said, glancing behind him.

"Oh my God Haley. You look beautiful." Nathan said excitedly.

"Thank you." Haley said, embracing him.

"Lucas, I think Brooke is ready to make her entrance." Karen said, grabbing Lucas by the elbow.

"Excuse me. I'm about to be floored." Lucas grinned.

Lucas stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited for Brooke to emerge.

"Wow." Lucas gasped.

Brooke appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a floor-length, dark red gown. Her hair was in a low bun, and her jewelry was simple but perfectly accented her gown.

"Like what you see?" Brooke asked quietly as she walked up to Lucas.

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world. I can't believe how lucky I am." Lucas breathed.

"Thank you handsome."

"You're welcome. Where did you get this dress?"

"It's my own creation."

"Seriously? Brooke Davis, you're going to take the world by storm one day." Lucas said proudly.

"Picture time!" Karen called out.

"How did I manage to have such good looking kids?" Dan said as the group lined up for pictures.

"Their beautiful mothers." Deb said, putting her arm around Karen.

Andy laughed and went to help Lucas straighten his tie.

"P Sawyer I can't believe you wore black to prom. Wear an actual color for once." Brooke teased.

"I think she looks amazing." Jake said.

"I'll second that." Haley said.

"She does. I'm just messing with you." Brooke grinned.

"I know, you crazy bitch." Peyton laughed.

"Let's get going." Brooke said once they had taken enough pictures.

"Have a good time." Andy called out.

"Be safe!" Karen and Deb yelled as everyone got into the limo.

* * *

"All right everyone, it's time to announce this year's prom king and queen." The class president announced.

Lucas smiled at Brooke, who was looking up at the stage intently.

"You're a shoo-in." Lucas whispered in her ear.

"We'll see."

"This year's prom king is the one and only…Nathan Scott!"

Lucas laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Shocker." Lucas teased.

Nathan smiled and headed up to the stage and got his crown.

"And ladies and gentleman…this year's prom queen is Brooke Davis!"

"Told you." Lucas grinned.

Brooke squealed and kissed Lucas before running up to the stage to get her tiara.

The music started up again and Brooke and Nathan posed for a picture before doing an obligatory dance together as the prom king and queen.

"May I have this dance?" Lucas asked Haley, extending his hand. His arm was still in the sling, but Haley eagerly leaned into her friend's embrace.

"It would be my pleasure." Haley said, putting her head on Lucas's chest.

"I love you Haley. I'm so glad that you came back home."

"I love you too Luke. I don't know what I'm going to do without you in the fall."

"That's easy. You're going to kick some ass at Stanford."

"How poetic."

"Trust me, you'll do great. I have no doubt."

"It's so far away from home…"

"Just remember, I'm only a phone call away if you ever need me."

"Thanks Luke."

"Always."

* * *

"Hey P Sawyer, thanks for hosting the after party." Brooke said to Peyton, sitting down next to her best friend.

"Of course, B Davis."

"I can't believe I have to go to my first college party as an actual college student without you."

"Wait. Did I miss you enrolling in college?" Peyton teased.

"Whatever. Girlfriend of a college student is close enough. Who am I going to hang out with at Duke parties while Lucas and Nathan talk about basketball?" Brooke laughed.

"Hell if I know. I'm going to miss you. Are you sure Luke can handle your crazy self all alone?"

"He can, and he will enjoy every minute of it." Brooke said firmly.

"That's true."

"I know this is so not cool, but can I please make one last plea for you to stay?" Brooke said, suddenly somber.

"Brooke…"

"I'm sorry. That was selfish of me. I know this is your dream. And you know what I want more than anything?"

"What's that?"

"I want you to be happy. I want all of your dreams to come true. I really mean it."

"Thanks Brooke. I want the same for you. Listen, I'll come back after a year if it doesn't work out."

"You will keep your skinny ass in California until you are a hotshot record producer."

"Yes ma'am." Peyton laughed.

"I can't believe we're leaving in two months." Jake said to Lucas, watching Peyton and Brooke talking.

"Me either. Brooke's been dreading it."

"Listen, I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"Letting me have a real high school experience. Once I had Jenny, I was resigned to the fact that I would never have a social life again. It's been great."

"It was my pleasure. I can't thank you enough for having my back when I first joined the team. You were my first friend and that means a lot to me. You stood by me when nobody on the team was willing to give me a chance."

"You're a good guy, Lucas."

"Thanks. I try."

"And listen, if you guys ever want to come out to see us, I'd love to sit down and write with you again."

"Yeah that was a lot of fun. And very therapeutic."

"The crowd at Tric seemed to like the songs."

"Wait, what?" Brooke interrupted.

Both Lucas and Jake jumped. They didn't realize they had an audience.

"Did you write the songs Jake performed at Tric?" Peyton asked

"I didn't realize you guys were listening." Lucas said quickly.

"Luke and I did some writing over the summer. I caught him writing in one of his many notebooks and told him that some of the stuff he was writing would make good song lyrics." Jake said.

"Oh my God." Brooke gasped.

"Lucas, those were really good songs." Peyton said.

"Thanks, but it was mostly Jake. I just did some lines here and there." Lucas said shyly.

"He's being modest." Jake said.

"Were they about me?" Brooke asked.

"A lot of them were. At various points in our relationship." Lucas admitted.

"I can't believe someone wrote a song about me." Brooke said, touched.

"You're quite the inspiration, Brooke Davis."

"My boyfriend, the song writer. Who knew?"

"Well actually…I'm working on a book too." Lucas said quietly.

"You are? That's what you've been writing for the last few months?"

"Yeah. It's nowhere near finished, but I've been working on it."

"What's it about?" Jake asked.

"Everything in my life, basically. Everyone and everything that I love." Lucas said, pulling Brooke close.

"I can't wait to read it." Brooke said excitedly

* * *

"This has been so perfect." Haley said to Nathan.

"Good. I wanted it to be perfect."

"It makes me kind of sad though."

"Why?"

"I want more nights like these."

"Haley, we'll have plenty of perfect nights. We already have."

"But I'm leaving. How can I live without you?"

"College is only four years. Besides, it's not like you won't be coming home on breaks. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

"That's true, but do you think long-distance will kill us?"

"We won't let it. If we can get through last year, we can do anything. Now that I know what it is to lose you, I know that I never want to do it again."

"Nathan, I was thinking…did you want to come back and spend a few hours with me at my apartment?" Haley whispered.

Nathan clasped Haley's hand and kissed it.

"I wish I could, but I think Luke and I have to get home at a reasonable hour now that my parents are actually being parental. We're staying at Karen's tonight."

"Oh."

"Don't be sad. Like I told you before, it isn't about just sex with me and you. I'm willing to wait. You're more than worth it."

Nathan leaned down and kissed Haley for several minutes.

"Let's go find everyone." Nathan said, finally catching his breath.

"Okay." Haley said, taking his hand.

Haley glanced around at all of their friends at the party. She watched as Nathan stopped to talk with Tim, and then waved to Theresa and her date Adam, another basketball player. Theresa smiled and waved at Nathan and Haley. Nathan smiled back at her.

"I'm glad Adam asked her to prom." Nathan commented.

"Me too." Haley said absently, still watching Theresa long after she had gone back to talking to others.

She couldn't help but wonder if Nathan would have wanted a very different prom night with Theresa.

"Let's go find Lucas and Brooke." Nathan said, interrupting Haley's thoughts.

* * *

"Hey did you know your brother was a songwriter?" Peyton called out to Nathan as he and Haley walked by.

"What?" Nathan asked, stopping in his tracks.

"He's been writing songs with Jake."

"Oh. That explains why Jake was pointing at him after he performed at Tric." Nathan said.

"You don't seem that surprised." Haley observed.

"He's always reading or writing. One day I asked him what the hell he's been writing in all of those notebooks and he said it was a little bit of everything. Plus he and Jake talk about their weird music taste all the time."

"Our taste in music is awesome." Jake protested.

"There you are." Lucas said, walking up with Brooke.

"Hey there. Still awake I see." Nathan teased.

"Not for long. I'm getting tired." Lucas laughed.

"Forget that, the party's just getting started!" Brooke said, wrapping her arms around Lucas.

"Brooke, thank you for arranging everything for prom. It has been really great." Haley said.

"I'm glad. Soon enough we'll all be going our separate ways. Sort of. It's one of our last nights together."

"We're going to have plenty of great times here in the future. College is only four years. We'll all be back here." Lucas said.

"I hope so." Peyton agreed.

"Promise?" Brooke asked.

"Always, B Davis." Peyton said, sticking out her pinky for a pinky swear.

Their moment was interrupted by Tim cranking up the music to a deafening volume.

"Tim, what the hell?" Nathan yelled.

"The party was getting too quiet. Maybe I should strip to keep things interesting." Tim yelled back.

"Please don't." Jake replied.

"Well at least some things never change." Haley said, laughing.

* * *

Nathan stumbled into Lucas's room at Karen and Andy's house the next morning and flopped onto Lucas's bed.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas mumbled into his pillow.

"Your mom suggested we both spend the night here, remember? Dad didn't want us to drive out to the beach house after being up all night."

"If you say so. Why are you up so early?"

"I don't know. Did you have a good time last night?"

"It was great. Did you and Haley have a good time?"

"Yeah. She asked me to come back to her apartment afterwards."

"Oh. Wow."

"I told you she was dropping hints."

"Well I'm not surprised, I guess."

"I think you're right about waiting though. I just want to enjoy every moment we have and not rush anything."

"I think that's smart, Nate."

"Theresa went with Adam. They make a good couple."

"Yeah Brooke said they've gone out a lot lately."

"Good. She deserves a good guy."

"You are a good guy."

"A good guy who can give her his whole heart."

"True. So can you believe we're done with high school, little brother?"

"No. It's ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome. No more homework, no more finals, no more tests."

"Until the fall."

"Bringing down the moment here, Luke."

"Sorry."

"Last night was really great. Haley looked amazing."

"She really did."

"I can't believe you could be friends with her all of these years and not make a move. What's wrong with you?" Nathan asked, laughing.

"I know how amazing she is. But clearly I am not the Scott brother she was meant to end up with. I'm feeling pretty good about my lot in life though."

"Two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to pick her out of a lineup."

"Charming."

"My world used to be really small. If you weren't on the basketball team or a cheerleader, I probably didn't really know who you were."

"Glad I could open up your world."

"Yeah, okay."

"I really hope everyone will stay close next year. Next up is graduation. You know, it's crazy to think that if we hadn't gotten to know each other, we would still have ended up next to each other at graduation. Strangers instead of brothers. Nate, even with all that has happened this has seriously been one of the best years of my life."

Silence.

"Nate?" Lucas said, rolling over and looking at his brother, who was fast asleep.

"Figures." Lucas laughed.

* * *

**Aww. See? Nothing too bad with Lucas and Nathan. I'm not feeling too sadistic. This time. ;)**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	64. Chapter 64

**Thanks for reading/reviewing! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Okay Lucas, it looks like your shoulder is healing nicely." Lucas's doctor told him.

"That's good news." Lucas replied.

"Absolutely. Between that and taking out your stitches, you are almost as good as new."

"More or less." Nathan said.

"Thanks Dr. Reynolds." Lucas said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Not a problem. Keep taking care of yourself."

"Will do."

"So can this be the last hospital trip you make for awhile?" Nathan asked Lucas in the parking lot.

"I can try."

"Thanks man. All this worrying about you is exhausting."

"It wasn't a big deal though."

"I always worry about you. It's never a good feeling to hear your brother is in the hospital, even if it's because he had to pass out in the most dramatic way possible."

"Thanks Nate. That was almost nice."

"Anytime. Let's go grab Jagielski and head to the beach."

* * *

"Your right arm is back in action I see." Jake said, walking up to Lucas and Nathan at the beach.

"Finally." Lucas said.

"Can you believe we're graduating this week?" Nathan asked.

"Not at all. I still can't believe I made it. I was this close to dropping out for good." Jake nodded.

"I'm glad you didn't." Lucas said, patting Jake on the shoulder.

"I never thought I would be reminiscing about high school with you two." Nathan grinned.

"Who knows where we'll be in the next few years." Lucas mused.

"Where do you think we'll be?" Jake asked.

"Right back here on the beach. Jake will bring his guitar and play his latest song, which Luke you probably helped him to write, and Luke will have yet another book in his back pocket." Nathan laughed, pulling the book out of Lucas's pocket and whacking him lightly on the head.

"Let's hope it's one I wrote." Lucas said, grabbing his book back.

"What do you think Nate? Is the NBA in your future?" Jake asked.

"That would be amazing. Let's just hope I don't screw it up at Duke first."

"I'll make sure you don't." Lucas said, putting his arm around Nathan.

"Good. I need you to keep me straight. And I need to keep you in a plastic bubble or something to keep you out of the hospital."

"I'll be okay Nate."

"If you say so."

"Where will our girls be?" Jake asked after a moment.

"Peyton will probably be trolling the streets of Los Angeles and discover the next big thing while they're humming to themselves at Starbucks." Lucas said.

"Haley should be a teacher." Jake said.

"No way. That's lame." Nathan laughed.

"Teachers are not lame. You're just a lazy jackass." Lucas swatted his brother on the arm.

"Yeah, yeah. I think she'll end up doing the music thing in the future." Nathan said.

"Really?" Jake asked.

"I could tell at the show how much she missed it. Anyways, Brooke will own like a billion stores, and one day we'll come over and we won't be able to find Luke under the piles of clothes they'll have in their house."

"That sounds accurate." Lucas said, laughing.

"What do you think gentleman, are these girls the one?" Jake asked.

"Yes." All three said in unison.

* * *

"We made it!" Haley squealed, running up to Lucas and Nathan at graduation.

"Finally." Nathan grinned, putting his arm around Lucas.

"I can't believe we're actually graduating." Lucas said.

"I can't believe that _I'm _actually graduating. Both of you have helped me get through school. I wouldn't be here without your help, so thank you both." Nathan said.

"Of course." Lucas said.

"Tutoring worked out pretty well for me in the end." Haley said, leaning over to kiss Nathan.

"Okay you three, time for a picture." Deb said, coming up with her camera.

Lucas and Nathan stood on either side of Haley and smiled for Deb.

"I have to go find my parents. I'll see you at the ceremony!" Haley said.

Dan walked up to his family and smiled.

"I am so proud of both of you." Dan said.

"Thanks Dad." Lucas and Nathan said.

"Lucas!" Karen called, coming up with Andy and Keith.

"Hey there." Dan said, shaking Andy's hand.

"Hey yourself. Big day, huh?" Andy said.

"I can't believe my baby is graduating." Karen said tearfully, hugging Lucas.

"Just think, in eighteen years we'll be doing this again." Andy said, looking at Karen's growing belly.

"Oh my God." Karen said, starting to cry. She pulled Lucas into another hug, holding on tight.

"It's okay, Mom." Lucas said, kissing her on the cheek and gently pulling away.

"Let's go find our seats." Deb suggested.

"Want to sit with us?" Dan asked Karen, Keith and Andy.

"Definitely." Andy said.

"I think it's time for us to line up, buddy." Lucas said to Nathan.

"Let's do it." Nathan said.

"Hold up nephews. Let me give you one piece of advice." Keith said.

"What's that?" Nathan asked.

"Let me guess. Don't trip?" Lucas asked.

"You know me well." Keith said, clapping Lucas on the shoulder.

"Yeah I do. I'm glad you're here."

"From now on, I'm here always. I promise."

* * *

"The grandparents are here." Lucas noticed as they were sitting through the ceremony.

"Oh wow. That's cool." Nathan said.

"You know what's crazy?"

"How boring this ceremony is?"

"True. But besides that fact."

"Do tell."

"If you and I never got to know each other, we would still be sitting here next to each other, ready to graduate, as strangers instead of brothers. I tried to tell you that after prom, but you fell asleep on me."

"Oh. My bad."

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm happy we're here, and I'm really proud of you. I wouldn't give up spending this day with you for anything."

"Right back at you, big brother." Nathan said, patting his brother on the shoulder.

"You guys, you're missing truly inspiring speeches." Peyton hissed from down the row.

"I highly doubt that." Nathan whispered back.

* * *

"Lucas Eugene Scott." The principal said.

"Eugene." Nathan snorted.

"Shut up." Lucas said as he walked up the stairs to the stage.

"Nathan Royal Scott."

Nathan followed his brother across the stage and received his diploma. Once they got off stage, Lucas and Nathan stopped and smiled at their family.

Out in the audience, Dan was getting emotional watching his sons walking across the stage. Deb squeezed his hand as he tried to keep his tears at bay.

"I could have missed all of this." Dan said, mostly to himself.

"Yeah, but you didn't." Karen said, smiling at him.

"You did a great job with him. Thank you for such an incredible son." Dan said.

Karen smiled at him and squeezed his hand briefly before turning back to the stage.

"Both of you." Dan said, turning to his wife, who kissed him.

Tim decided to jump off the front of the stage instead of walking down the stairs like everyone else.

"They gave that kid a diploma." Lucas said in awe.

"It was either that or keep him another year to torture the teachers." Nathan pointed out.

* * *

"Congratulations. Oh I can't believe my baby boy is all grown up." Karen said, hugging Lucas after the ceremony.

"We're really proud of you." Andy said, giving Lucas a hug too.

"Thanks guys." Lucas said.

"We did it!" Brooke exclaimed, rushing over to give Lucas a hug.

"Oh honey we're so proud of you too. I couldn't ask for a better girl to love my son." Karen said, embracing Brooke.

"Thanks Karen."

"Did you parents come?" Lucas asked quietly.

Brooke's smiled faded for a moment, but she quickly smoothed out her hair and rolled her eyes.

"No. My dad had a conference or something. Doesn't matter. You three are the ones who matter to me today."

Lucas kissed the top of Brooke's head.

"Don't forget Baby Hargrove." Lucas said, pointing at Karen's stomach.

"Of course! The four of you are all the family I need." Brooke smiled.

Karen smiled and took Brooke's hand as everyone went to find a good place to take pictures.

"I love you pretty girl. It's their loss." Lucas said, leaning in for a kiss.

"I know."

"Brooke, we actually wanted to ask you something." Karen said.

"Oh really?"

"We were hoping you would move in with us. I hate the thought of you in that apartment all by yourself, and besides, I would love to have you around the house. I'm sure Lucas's little brother or sister would too."

"Plus we've got a business to get started on." Andy said.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course! You know we love you."

"I'd love to move in! I promise that I will earn my keep. I will do dishes, or laundry, and I can take care of the baby any time you want me to!" Brooke exclaimed, hugging Karen and Andy.

"That's really amazing, mom. Why didn't you tell me?" Lucas asked.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. We have one for you too. Go get Nathan though, it's technically for both of you."

"Okay." Lucas said, going to find Nathan.

"He's going to be so excited." Brooke whispered to Karen.

"We're here!" Lucas said, steering Nathan over to the group.

"What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Karen and I talked to your father about your living arrangement next year. While we agreed to let Dan pay for both of your tuitions, we wanted to do what we could to help out." Andy said.

"Please let it be a Porsche." Nathan whispered.

Lucas laughed and rolled his eyes.

"How does a house sound?" Andy asked.

"A house?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas, I know how much you love the house you grew up in. There's a lot of memories there. We wanted you to make some of your own in that house as an adult." Andy said.

"What are you saying?"

"We never sold the old house. We intended it to be yours." Karen said.

"You're joking." Nathan said in amazement.

"Dead serious." Andy said, smiling.

"Thank you so much!" Lucas said, hugging his stepfather.

"This is amazing. Are you sure?" Nathan said reluctantly.

"Of course." Karen said. She smiled at Nathan, and then hugged him. Nathan was surprised but happily returned the embrace.

"No dorms for us." Nathan said, giving his brother a high five.

"I can't believe it. Thank you so much." Lucas said.

"Whatever, I get a walk-in closet." Brooke teased.

"Lucky girl." Lucas smiled.

"Yes I am." Brooke said, kissing Lucas.

* * *

"Okay bitches, let's practice our drinking game skills." Tim said at his graduation party. He was already pretty far gone, and the party had barely started.

"Bring it, Smith. What are we going to play?" Brooke said, sitting down at the table.

"Let's start off easy. Never Have I Ever." Tim said, taking a shot of tequila.

"Sounds good. Rally the troops." Peyton said, sitting down next to Brooke.

Haley and Nathan came in and sat down to play. Haley shifted uncomfortably in her seat. These kinds of games made her feel nervous and childish.

Her discomfort grew when Bevin and Theresa came to join them.

"Where's Lucas?" Brooke asked.

"He and Jake are coming." Peyton replied.

"Here." Lucas said, walking in with Jake.

"Let's do this." Tim said, drumming his hands on the table.

"Okay. I'll go first. Um...never have I ever stolen candy from the grocery store." Lucas said.

"You need to walk on the wild side a bit more." Nathan laughed as he took a drink. Haley, Bevin, and Brooke joined him.

Tim chugged his drink and got up to refill it.

"Damn, Tim, you just have to take a sip." Nathan said.

"That was for my own benefit. Let's keep going." Tim said.

"Okay. Never have I ever…flashed anyone." Haley said quickly.

Brooke, Peyton, Theresa, and Tim raised their glasses and took a drink.

"What poor person did you flash Tim?" Nathan asked.

"How the hell should I know? I was in a moving car. Whoever it was, they're lucky."

"If you say so." Haley said, rolling her eyes.

"My turn. Never have I ever made out with a girl." Peyton said.

"Lame." Brooke teased.

Tim, Jake, Lucas, Nathan, Bevin, and Brooke took a drink. Jake raised his eyebrows at Brooke.

"Wow." Lucas said, blushing.

Brooke shrugged and smiled at her boyfriend, who smiled back.

"I have a good one." Tim said suddenly.

"This should be interesting." Brooke snorted.

"Never have I ever…had sex with Nathan Scott."

Nathan's breath caught in his throat. He didn't dare look at Haley. Or anyone at that table.

Haley, Peyton, Brooke, and Theresa sheepishly took a drink. Haley stared at Theresa for a moment before hurrying out of the room.

"Real dick move, Tim." Nathan said angrily.

"Whatever." Tim mumbled.

"I'll go talk to her." Lucas said, getting up.

"Shouldn't I go?" Nathan asked.

"No. Not this time. I'll be back." Lucas said, patting Nathan on the shoulder.

* * *

Lucas found Haley outside staring out at nothing in particular.

"I guess I should have known. Maybe I'm just naïve." Haley said after a moment.

"He was going to tell you."

"Wait, you knew?"

"He told a couple of weeks ago. The day after I hurt my shoulder. Maybe I'm naïve too because I didn't put two and two together until then either."

"We're quite a pair, you and I."

"Listen, Haley, he knows that he messed up."

"Why would he let me be humiliated like that in front of all our friends?"

"I'm sorry, Haley. You know that his heart has always been with you though."

"Luke, how can I believe that?"

"You have to know it's true. He never was able to move on from you."

"If he really loved me all along, how could he be sleeping with someone else? And it's not like it was even random rebound sex. He was dating somebody and he cannot even tell me that their relationship meant nothing."

"Look, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, he liked Theresa a lot, but I think he knew it wasn't forever. She was there for him through some tough times and that's important. But he wasn't planning his future around being with her."

"So what, they were going to break up before college?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But I do know that he would choose you every time."

"But he didn't choose me! He wanted to date. He wanted to date her specifically."

"He needed to. He was so hung up on the past and all of his regrets that he was not going to be good for you back then anyway. First of all, he needed some time by himself. Then he just needed someone that he enjoyed spending time with. He was too scared to put himself out there for you, but Theresa was really great. I'm sorry but I am not going to deny that."

"I feel horrible. She's a nice person. None of this is her fault and here I am, thinking of her as an obstacle, not an actual person."

"She's a very nice person. You don't need to worry about her, or Peyton, or Brooke. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry, I know Brooke isn't like that. I know she and Nathan don't have anything going on. I'm just being crazy."

"Don't worry about it. Theresa's okay with how things turned out, and you and Nathan are back together and you get to make a future with him. He wants you, Haley. The only person he has ever been in love with is you, and nobody can ever change that."

"You're right. Thanks Luke."

"Of course. Let's go back and show them that the past doesn't own you."

"Okay." Haley said, finally allowing herself to smile

Lucas stuck his hand out and pulled Haley up to a standing position. He pulled her into a hug, which she eagerly returned for a few moments.

"Look, Nathan is my brother and I love him, but don't forget that you're my best friend and I love you too. I'll do whatever I can to protect you. Both of you. I really believe in the two of you. Don't let this shake you up. You've waited too long to let this fall apart over something that cannot be changed."

"You're right. Let's go back in."

Lucas opened the door for Haley and followed her back inside the house.

"Hey." Nathan said tentatively as Haley and Lucas came back in.

"Hi." Haley said, kissing him on the cheek before she sat down.

"What happened to Tim?" Lucas asked.

"I do believe he had to go puke for awhile. He's been chugging down drinks all night." Jake said.

"Charming." Lucas said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey guys. I have one." Brooke said, glancing at Haley. Everyone who had been at the table nodded.

"Go ahead." Haley said.

"Never have I ever been madly in love with Haley James." Everyone at the table but Nathan, Lucas, and Haley said loudly.

Nathan smiled, stood up, and downed his drink. Haley laughed and kissed him.

"I think I need another." Nathan said.

Everyone at the table laughed, including Theresa. Haley caught her eye and smiled. Theresa smiled back.

* * *

"So boyfriend, I'm going to need your help moving." Brooke said later that night.

"I am at your service. So, you're happy about this arrangement?" Lucas said, taking her hands in his.

"Ecstatic. But I do have to say, I hope my next move is with you."

"Let's make sure it is."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm really excited about all of this." Lucas said happily.

"Me too. I really meant it earlier, I couldn't ask for better people in my life."

"I told you at that rehearsal dinner, you are my family. My mom loves you so much and I know that my little brother or sister is going to adore you too."

"It better be a girl."

"Nathan wants a girl too."

"I thought he would want a boy so you two can teach him basketball as soon as he can stand."

"He wants to be the only little brother I have."

"That's so cute."

"I told him nothing could change our relationship."

"That's true."

"I love you, Brooke Davis."

"I love you, Lucas Scott."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"Every year, Haley and I write our predictions for the coming school year. This year mine finally came true."

"What was it?"

"I will try again with Brooke Davis."

"Really?"

"Really. I spent all summer wanting to make things right with you."

"You did a really good job."

"In case I don't say it enough, I'm really glad you gave me the chance."

"I was worried about getting hurt again. I wish I could have said yes sooner, but I was just scared. You really showed me that I made the right choice though."

"I'm glad. I understand that you were scared. I was too."

"You were worth the risk though."

"I want to be. Every time." Lucas said.

Brooke leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Lucas. They stood there for several minutes, taking in the silence and enjoying being with each other.

Their moment was interrupted by the door opening with a squeak.

"Hey. Luke are you ready to go?" Nathan said, hovering in the doorway.

"Oh. Sure." Lucas nodded.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to interrupt. It's just getting late and you're going back to your mom's, right?"

"Yeah, no problem. Should we find Tim?" Lucas asked.

"I haven't seen him. I'm still pretty pissed off at him for what he did earlier. Maybe now's not a good time to talk to him."

"Fair enough. Go find Haley and we'll go."

* * *

Lucas woke up the next morning to his phone ringing. It was Dan.

"Hey Dad. What's up?"

"Hey Luke. Do you mind coming over here?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on?"

"There was an accident last night. Tim…he apparently was really drunk at his graduation party. He went out driving around 2:30 and ended up slamming right into a tree."

"Oh my God. Is he okay? Is he…" Lucas gasped.

"He didn't make it son. I'm sorry." Dan said softly.

"Does Nathan know?"

"Not yet. Deb is going to go tell him. I thought he might want his brother here when he finds out."

"Of course. I'll be right there." Lucas said quickly.

"Thanks son. See you soon. I love you Luke."

"Bye Dad. I love you too."

"What's wrong?" Karen asked as Lucas rushed out of his bedroom, pulling on his shoes.

"I have to go to Dad's. Tim got into an accident last night. He didn't make it."

"Oh that's awful."

"I have to go be with Nathan. This is going to destroy him."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. Please send him our love."

"Okay. I love you Mom." Lucas said, realizing how important it was for her to know that right then.

"I love you too sweetie."

* * *

"Nathan?" Deb said, hearing someone come down the stairs.

"Yeah?" Nathan replied, coming into the living room.

"Honey, come sit down."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry I have to tell you this. Last night after the party, Tim was driving around, and he had been drinking a lot—"

"No." Nathan said quickly, going pale.

"Nathan, I'm so sorry. He hit a tree head on."

"No…" Nathan said quietly, locking eyes with Lucas as he came into the room.

"I'm so sorry, honey. I'm so sorry." Deb said tearfully.

Lucas quietly approached his brother, who was looking at him in utter bewilderment.

"Nate…" Lucas said as Nathan sank to his knees. Lucas quickly knelt down beside him.

"It can't be true. There's no way." Nathan said breathlessly, looking at Lucas pleadingly.

Lucas felt completely helpless. Nathan was looking at him like he was the last hope of it not being true, as if he were there to say Deb was mistaken. Lucas sadly shook his head.

Nathan stared at Lucas for a moment. Lucas watched as the gut-wrenching realization set in.

"I'm so sorry." Lucas whispered, reaching out to Nathan. Deb wiped away her own tears as Dan put his arm around her.

Nathan didn't reply, he just limply fell into Lucas's embrace and started sobbing.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think! And as always, thanks for reading! **


	65. Chapter 65

Nathan alternated between sobbing and saying that there was no way Tim could be gone. He never waited for a response before collapsing into tears again.

Eventually he kept his head buried against Lucas's shoulder and just cried.

Lucas rested his head against Nathan's and let a few of his own tears slip out every once in awhile.

Dan and Deb watched helplessly as their son was suffering. They quietly stood up and motioned that they would be in the other room.

Lucas watched them go before shutting his eyes and losing himself in his own thoughts. His body was shaking with Nathan's sobs. He held onto his brother tighter.

Lucas sat wordlessly with his brother until Nathan finally lifted his head and smiled weakly.

"Sorry I've made you sit on the floor for so long." Nathan said.

"Please don't apologize. I'll do anything I can to help you."

"Thanks Luke."

"Can I get you some water?"

Nathan nodded. He was thirsty and exhausted. He pulled himself up onto the couch. A photograph on the wall caught his eye. It was a team photo from a few years ago. Nathan couldn't help but stare at Tim, looking so happy. Tim loves basketball.

Loved. Past tense, Nathan reminded himself.

Lucas came back with a glass of water. Nathan was still staring at the wall. Lucas followed his gaze.

Nathan noticed Lucas's presence and pointed to the photo.

"It's from freshman year. Tim couldn't believe he made the team."

"He was a good player."

"Yeah. There it is again."

"What?"

"Past tense. I had to remind myself a minute ago."

"Nate…"

"I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to lose someone. How am I supposed to move past this?"

"You just found out Nate. You're allowed to grieve."

"Do you think Haley knows?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't know how many people from school know."

"Can you call her? I don't know where my phone is."

"Sure. Do you want her to come over?"

"No. Not right now."

"Do you want to have something to eat?"

"That's okay. I'm not really sure I could taste anything anyway. I think I'm going to take a shower. But thanks Luke."

"Anytime. I'll call Haley for you."

Nathan stared at Lucas for a moment, apparently not even remembering that he had asked Lucas to do that.

Finally he just nodded and walked upstairs.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Lucas sat in a chair reading a book. Nathan was sitting on the floor of his bedroom, absently playing a video game.

"Do you need anything buddy?" Lucas asked, shutting the book.

"No." Nathan said hollowly.

"Okay."

"I keep waiting for him to sign on."

"What?"

"Tim. I keep waiting to see his screen name pop up on the screen. He and I used to do missions together."

"I'm so sorry Nate." Lucas said, getting up and sitting next to Nathan on the floor.

"It's okay. I know he's not going to be signing on. I just have to get used to that being the norm."

"Seriously Nate, is there anything I can do?"

"No. Just the fact that you're here helps more than you know. Do you mind if I keep you captive a bit longer?"

"You're not keeping me captive. I'm here as long as you need me."

"Hey boys. Haley's downstairs. Can I send her up?" Deb asked from the doorway.

"Yeah." Nathan said.

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?"

"Yeah maybe you should. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Luke?"

"Yeah Nate?"

"Since Haley's going to be here, why don't you go see your mom or Brooke?"

"That's okay. I can stay here."

"No, go. I promise I'll be okay. Like I said, Haley's coming up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I promise. Thanks though."

"Of course."

"I love you Luke. I know I tell you all the time, but I hate for anything else to be the last thing you remember me saying."

"I love you too Nate. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Hey." Haley said softly as Lucas passed her on his way out.

"Hey."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay. I never realized how much I sucked at this game without Tim. We all have our special talents I guess."

"I guess."

"Are you coming on Saturday?"

"Of course."

"His dad asked me to speak."

"You're his best friend."

"What am I supposed to say? The last thing I ever said to him was that he was a dick. I don't think that would really fly as a eulogy."

"Friends fight. He knew you cared about him."

"I feel like I let our friendship slide a lot. I've been really preoccupied with my own stuff, good or bad, and I didn't make a lot of time to hang out with him. I just figured we'd catch up eventually. I just always thought that later was a given."

"Oh Nathan. I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Thanks for being here."

"Always."

* * *

Nathan came downstairs the day of the funeral and sat down next to Lucas, then promptly began to stare at the wall.

Lucas studied his brother. Nathan looked like he hadn't slept in days. Not that he would know, Nathan had been holed up in room ever since Haley left almost a week ago.

Lucas signed and took a sip of his coffee. He wasn't used to Nathan shutting him out, but he figured that it would pass soon.

Nathan absently reached over and took a piece of bacon off of Lucas's plate and ate it. Lucas smiled a little bit.

"Today is going to suck." Nathan finally said, still not looking at anything in particular.

"It's going to be a hard day. But you'll get through it, and don't forget that we're here for you."

"I know. I just wish I knew what I was going to say up there."

"Try describing Tim. Like, what would you tell someone who didn't know him." Dan suggested, coming into the kitchen and straightening his tie.

"That's a good idea." Lucas said.

"Thanks Dad." Nathan said, smiling for the first time in days. It was a small smile, but better than nothing.

"Anytime son." Dan said, patting Nathan on the shoulder.

"Luke, I know I've been MIA the past few days…" Nathan said, still not looking at Lucas.

"It's okay Nate."

"I know you want to be there for me. I just don't know what to do."

"It's okay. You take all the time you need."

"Right." Nathan said absently.

* * *

"Tim's best friend Nathan is going to share some of his memories with us." Mr. Smith announced at the funeral.

Nathan sighed and steeled himself for the tough moments ahead. Lucas had been sitting with his arm around Nathan. Nathan glanced at Lucas before standing up.

"Ready?" Lucas whispered.

"Yeah."

"You'll do great." Lucas said, squeezing Nathan's shoulder before letting him get up.

Nathan made his way to the front and surveyed the crowd in front of him. There were a lot of familiar faces. He hoped that he could do his friend justice.

"Um, I could tell you that Tim had recently graduated from high school, where he was on the championship-winning basketball team. He was a good player. Kind of a sucky student, but hey, so was I. There are a lot of basic things I could tell you about Tim. More importantly, I can tell you that Tim was my best friend for as long as I can remember. There are a lot of times I took that for granted."

Nathan paused to collect himself. He took a deep breath and continued, looking out at the crowd again.

"I cannot describe how much I hate having to use the past tense to talk about him. Tim's death has shown me the importance of living in the moment. Tim's life also showed me that, but I realized that way too late. When I was trying to decide what to say today, I was asked to describe Tim to someone who hadn't met him. Tim was…Tim. He was never afraid of being himself. Even when he was being ridiculous, you could tell he was enjoying himself and he wouldn't want to be anyone or anything else. He was an easy target for jokes but I have to say, I never fully appreciated his integrity and sense of self until recently. Tim was Tim, no apologies. When I needed him, he was there for me. I called him from the hospital last year after my brother had a heart attack and he came right away. That's just the kind of friend he was. He would do anything for you, no questions asked. Some of you are going to remember Tim as the goofy guy you went to high school with. That's okay with me, and it would be okay with Tim. I'm not going to worry about Tim's legacy at all. He would be happy to know that people cared. He would be so happy to see everyone here. Tim was one of a kind, and all he wanted to be was himself. There's no better legacy in my opinion. All that's left to say is, rest easy buddy. I love you. Present tense."

Nathan paused for another moment and then briskly made his way back to his seat. Lucas gave him a small smile as he sat down.

"That was really great." Lucas whispered.

"He deserves really great." Nathan said.

Lucas smiled and put his arm around Nathan once more. Maybe he was starting to process everything.

Nathan settled back in his seat and edged out of Lucas's grasp. Lucas patted Nathan's shoulder instead and then let go.

Lucas's heart sank as he watched the familiar look of vacancy once again fill his brother's eyes.

Nathan continued to stare straight ahead as the service was coming to a close.

Lucas sighed, swallowing hard as his head started to pound. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Dan whispered on the other side of Nathan.

"Fine." Lucas said quickly.

* * *

Lucas and Brooke got into his car after the service. Lucas tilted his head back and sighed. Nathan had given him a quick hug and then hurried off to sit in the back seat of Dan's car.

"That was hard." Brooke said sadly.

"Nathan did really great."

"He did."

"How are you doing, pretty girl?"

"I'm okay. I never imagined life without Tim. Who would've thought I'd miss that crazy guy? But I do."

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

"Are you heading back to your dad's?"

"My dad's, but just to get my stuff together. I owe my mom some quality time."

"That's good."

"Yeah it is." Lucas said absently.

"You okay?"

"I'm just a little tired I think. A little lightheaded."

"Do you want to pull over? I can drive."

"Yeah." Lucas said, pulling over to the side of the road. He leaned his head against the steering wheel.

Brooke opened her door and rushed over to Lucas. She saw Jake and Peyton driving up to them.

"Are you feeling okay?" Brooke asked again.

"I'm really dizzy." Lucas said, getting out and leaning against the car.

"Lucas!" Jake yelled, running over with Peyton.

"I think he might pass out." Brooke said, starting to panic.

"Luke, can you look at me?" Jake asked, trying to get Lucas to focus.

"I can't really see you. Everything's fuzzy."

"Sit down." Jake said, guiding his friend to the ground.

Brooke reached into the car and got out her water bottle. She knelt down beside Lucas and helped him drink.

Lucas shut his eyes for a few minutes, taking deep breaths.

"That's better." Lucas said finally.

"Are you sick again?" Brooke asked.

"No. That was really sudden. Like when I blacked out at the basketball court."

"Jeez, and you were taking your meds then too." Jake said.

Lucas stared at Jake, his eyes wide.

"I haven't."

"What?"

"I haven't been taking them."

"What?"

"I forgot to bring them with me. Damn it, how could I be so stupid?"

"You were distracted, it's okay. We'll go get them now." Brooke said bracingly.

"Yeah. Let's get my stuff from my dad's and we'll go get my meds."

"Okay."

"You sure you're okay Luke?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. Thanks man. Brooke can take us there."

"No worries. Call me later."

"Will do."

* * *

Lucas walked into the kitchen and chugged a glass of water.

"Feeling better?" Brooke asked.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked as he passed the doorway.

"Nothing. I'm okay." Lucas said quickly.

"What happened?"

"I just got a little dizzy. Nothing major. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sick again?"

"No, thankfully."

"Are you sure? You look like hell. What's wrong?"

"No. Listen, don't panic, but I forgot to bring my medication when I came here. I didn't realize until today."

Nathan didn't say anything.

"I'm okay Nate."

"What happened?"

"I'm just a little dizzy. I'm sure my meds and some rest will help."

"Do you care about yourself at all?" Nathan asked quietly.

"Nate, I didn't mean to do it. I was just in a hurry to get here when I heard about Tim."

"Don't you know that it makes me sick to know that something can happen to you at any moment? Why don't you give a damn about that?"

"Nathan, please." Brooke pleaded.

"I'm sorry Nate." Lucas said weakly.

"We just buried my best friend."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Nathan almost shouted.

"What's going on?" Dan asked, hurrying into the room. He put his hands on Lucas's shoulders and looked at Nathan.

"Nothing." Lucas said, desperate to leave.

"Lucas is suicidal, that's all." Nathan said bitterly.

"What?" Dan asked. His grip on Lucas tightened involuntarily.

"I'm not suicidal. I just forgot to take my medication because I was in a hurry to get here on Saturday." Lucas said, still staring at Nathan.

"Lucas, that was a week ago." Dan said.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Can you please just take care of yourself for once? You didn't have to rush over here and risk your own health."

"Nate, your best friend died. I wanted to be there for you."

"Well guess what? I want you to BE HERE and I want you not to DROP DEAD FROM A HEART ATTACK." Nathan yelled.

"I'm sorry." Lucas said weakly.

"Sorry? We just buried my best friend. I don't want to have to bury you too. I couldn't handle that, I seriously couldn't."

"It's going to be okay. I'm going right now to get the medication."

"Stop trying to save everyone. Don't rush over here and slowly kill yourself by not taking your medicine. Don't run into any fires, don't worry about saving other people, and worry about yourself for once!"

"Nate." Lucas said sharply. He was starting to feel lightheaded again.

"What? You don't want Dad to know? Too bad."

"Know what?" Dan asked.

"Nate, don't." Lucas said.

"He pulled you out of the fire." Nathan said to Dan.

"Damn it Nathan." Lucas said angrily. His head was pounding again.

"Is that true?" Dan asked.

"Yes." Lucas admitted.

Dan let go of Lucas and walked around to face him.

"You could've been killed." Dan said.

"Like he cares." Nathan said.

"Stop." Brooke said angrily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dan asked, his voice breaking.

"I don't know." Lucas said, staring at the floor.

"Sorry, I think we should go." Brooke said quietly, taking Lucas's hand.

"I'm sorry." Lucas said to nobody in particular.

Nathan didn't respond, he just stormed out of the room. Lucas winced as he heard Nathan's door slam.

"Lucas we need to talk about this." Dan said shakily.

"I'm sorry. I can't right now." Lucas said, running out of the house.

Brooke watched him go, then glanced at Dan. Dan looked completely at a loss for words.

"I'll talk to him. I'm sorry but I need to take him to Karen's."

Dan couldn't find the works to speak, he just nodded.

* * *

**Poor Nate.**

**Please leave me a review, you know how I love them!**

**Thanks for reading :) **


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